Property control and configuration based on floor contact monitoring

ABSTRACT

A monitoring system that is configured to monitor a property is disclosed. The monitoring system includes a sensor that is configured to generate sensor data that indicates an attribute of the property; a floor sensor that is configured to generate floor sensor data that indicates an amount of pressure applied to a portion of a floor of the property; and a monitor control unit. The monitor control unit is configured to receive, from the sensor, the sensor data; receive, from the floor sensor, the floor sensor data; analyze the sensor data and the floor sensor data; and based on analyzing the sensor data and the floor sensor data, perform a monitoring system action.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Application No. 62/837,466,filed Apr. 23, 2019, which is incorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This specification generally relates to property monitoring systems.

BACKGROUND

Many properties are equipped with monitoring systems that includesensors and connected system components.

SUMMARY

According to an innovative aspect of the subject matter described inthis application, a monitoring system is configured to monitor aproperty. The monitoring system includes a sensor that is configured togenerate sensor data that indicates an attribute of the property; afloor sensor that is configured to generate floor sensor data thatindicates an amount of pressure applied to a portion of a floor of theproperty; and a monitor control unit. The monitor control unit isconfigured to: receive, from the sensor, the sensor data; receive, fromthe floor sensor, the floor sensor data; analyze the sensor data and thefloor sensor data; and based on analyzing the sensor data and the floorsensor data, perform a monitoring system action.

Other embodiments of this and other aspects include correspondingsystems, apparatus, and computer programs, configured to perform actionsof methods encoded on computer storage devices. A system of one or morecomputers or other processing devices can be so configured by virtue ofsoftware, firmware, hardware, or a combination of them installed on thesystem that in operation cause the system to perform the actions. One ormore computer programs can be so configured by virtue havinginstructions that, when executed by data processing apparatus, cause theapparatus to perform the actions.

These and other embodiments may each optionally include one or more ofthe following features.

In some implementations, the monitor control unit is configured todetect, based on analyzing the sensor data and the floor sensor data,one or more footsteps taken on the portion of the floor by a person; andgenerate footstep data, the footstep data including one or more of: anumber of footsteps taken on the portion of the floor during a period oftime; a path of footsteps taken on the portion of the floor during theperiod of time; a gait pattern of the person; a weight of the person; ora foot size of the person.

In some implementations, the monitor control unit is configured to:determine, based on analyzing the sensor data and the floor sensor data,that a person has fallen on the portion of the floor; and in response todetermining that the person has fallen on the portion of the floor,perform the monitoring system action.

In some implementations, determining that the person has fallen on theportion of the floor includes: determining an impact pressure applied tothe portion of the floor; and determining that the impact pressureapplied to the portion of the floor exceeded a threshold impactpressure.

In some implementations, determining that the person has fallen on theportion of the floor includes: determining a distribution of the amountof pressure applied to the portion of the floor; determining that thedistribution of the amount of pressure applied to the portion of thefloor indicates that a person is prone on the floor; and determiningthat a length of time that the person is prone on the floor exceeds athreshold length of time.

In some implementations, the monitor control unit is configured to:determine, based on analyzing the sensor data and the floor sensor data,an occupancy of a portion of the property; determine that the occupancyof the portion of the property exceeds a threshold occupancy of theproperty; and in response to determining that the occupancy of theportion of the property exceeds the threshold occupancy of the property,perform the monitoring system action.

In some implementations, the monitor control unit is configured to:determine a base state of the portion of the floor, the base stateincluding an amount of pressure applied to the portion of the floor byone or more inanimate objects in the absence of human activity; detect,based on analyzing the floor sensor data, a change in the amount ofpressure applied to the portion of the floor in the absence of humanactivity; and based on detecting the change in the amount of pressureapplied to the portion of the floor in the absence of human activity,determine that a location of one or more inanimate objects has changed.

In some implementations, the sensor includes a camera, a motion sensor,a microphone, a thermometer, a humidity sensor, a GPS tracker, or awater flow sensor.

In some implementations, the monitor control unit is configured to:determine an amount of pressure applied to the portion of the floor by afurnishing storing a plurality of items; detect, based on analyzing thefloor sensor data, a reduction in the amount of pressure applied to theportion of the floor by the furnishing; based on detecting the reductionin the amount of pressure applied to the portion of the floor by thefurnishing, determine that one or more of the plurality of items hasbeen removed from the furnishing; and in response to determining thatthe one or more of the plurality of items has been removed from thefurnishing, perform the monitoring system action.

In some implementations, the floor is located in a garage having agarage door operated by a garage door control device, and the monitorcontrol unit is configured to: determine an amount of pressure appliedto the portion of the floor by a vehicle; detect, based on analyzing thefloor sensor data, an increase in the amount of pressure applied to theportion of the floor by the vehicle; based on detecting the increase inthe amount of pressure applied to the portion of the floor by thevehicle, determine that a person has entered the vehicle; and inresponse to determining that the person has entered the vehicle,communicate an instruction to the garage door control device to open thegarage door.

In some implementations, the floor sensor is integrated into a floorsurface, the floor surface including one or more of a tile, a carpet, amat, a floorboard, a pad, or an underlayment.

In some implementations, the floor of the property includes a pluralityof tiles, and the floor sensor includes: a plurality of pressuresensors, each of the plurality of pressure sensors integrated into arespective tile of the plurality of tiles and configured to output ameasured amount of pressure applied to the respective tile.

In some implementations, the floor sensor includes one or more of astrain gauge, a fiber optic sensor, or a capacitive sensor.

In some implementations, the amount of pressure applied to the portionof the floor of the property comprises an indication of either apresence or absence of pressure applied to the portion of the floor.

In some implementations, the monitoring system action includesactivating one or more cameras to capture an image of an area of theproperty that includes the portion of the floor.

In some implementations, the monitoring system action includes:identifying, using image analysis, a presence of a person in the image;and determining, based on analyzing the floor sensor data, a weight ofthe person in the image.

In some implementations, the monitor control unit is configured to:determine, based on the footstep data, that the number of footstepstaken on the portion of the floor during the period of time deviatesfrom an expected number of footsteps taken on the portion of the floorduring the period of time; and communicate, to a user device of a user,a notification indicating that the number of footsteps taken on theportion of the floor during the period of time deviates from theexpected number of footsteps taken on the portion of the floor duringthe period of time.

In some implementations, the monitoring system action is configured to:determine, based on the path of footsteps taken on the portion of thefloor during the period of time, that the person is approaching an areaof the property that is off limits to the person; and in response todetermining that the person is approaching the area of the property thatis off limits to the person, perform the monitoring system action.

In some implementations, determining that the person is approaching thearea of the property that is off limits to the person includes:identifying, based on analyzing the sensor data, an identifiable featureof the person; retrieving, from a database, one or more identifiablefeatures indicating access to the area of the property; and determiningthat the identifiable feature of the person does not match any of theone or more identifiable features indicating access to the area of theproperty.

The details of one or more implementations of the subject matterdescribed in this specification are set forth in the accompanyingdrawings and the description below. Other features, aspects, andadvantages of the subject matter will become apparent from thedescription, the drawings, and the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a system for residentialproperty control and configuration based on floor contact monitoring.

FIGS. 2A-2C are diagrams illustrating examples of rental propertycontrol and configuration based on floor contact monitoring.

FIGS. 3A-3C are diagrams illustrating examples of commercial propertycontrol and configuration based on floor contact monitoring.

FIGS. 4A-4D are illustrations of example grid patterns that can be usedfor floor contact sensors.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating an example of a process for propertycontrol and configuration based on floor contact monitoring.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a property monitoringsystem.

Like reference numbers and designations in the various drawings indicatelike elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Many residents and homeowners equip their properties with monitoringsystems to enhance the security, safety, or convenience of theirproperties. The property monitoring systems can include floor contactsensors, which provide data related to the contact of people, pets, andobjects with floors within the property. For example, floor contactsensors located in a room of the property can collect data that can beprocessed to determine the number of people in the room. Floor contactsensors can also detect and identify various activities such as walking,running, jumping, or falling. By processing floor contact data overtime, a monitoring system can identify trends in movement and activitywithin a property. When an anomaly occurs, such as someone falling on afloor or failing to get out of bed, the monitoring system can detect theanomaly and perform an action in response to the anomaly.

In some implementations, monitoring systems can dynamically control andconfigure devices and components of a property based on floor contactsensor data. For example, the monitoring system can use the dataprovided by the floor contact sensor to adjust the lighting ortemperature within certain areas of the property, to adjust the statusof the monitoring system, or to turn on or off appliances based on thelocation and activities of residents.

In some implementations, monitoring systems can improve accuracy ofvideo analytics and machine vision using data provided by the floorcontact sensor. For example, monitoring systems can filter video eventsbased on floor contact sensor data in order to reduce a number of falsealarms and to reduce the amount of unneeded camera data that is recordedand stored. Floor contact sensor data can also be used to triggerrecording and/or storing camera data.

In some implementations, monitoring systems can correlate video analysisresults with floor contact sensor data in order to improve accuracy ofobject detection. For example, based on floor contact sensor data,monitoring systems can determine a likelihood that detected objects wereaccurately detected and identified through video analysis. Additionally,monitoring systems can use floor contact sensor data can to identifyindividual objects such as people, animals, and inanimate objects.Identification of individual objects can be performed based on floorcontact sensor data alone, or in conjunction with additional sensor datasuch as camera data.

Certain implementations of the disclosed systems, techniques, andprocess have particular advantages. In some cases, by analyzing floorcontact monitoring data, a monitoring system can detect unexpected orundesired activity at a property and perform actions to mitigate orprevent furtherance of the activity. For example, certain properties mayhave occupancy limits. Based on floor contact monitoring data, themonitoring system can detect if there are too many people on theproperty, and can notify the property owner of the high occupancy.

In some cases, the monitoring system may be able to improve theefficiency or operation of the appliances of a property based on floorcontact monitoring data. For example, the monitoring system can beprogrammed to control the HVAC system by turning on the heat only inoccupied rooms of a property, and turning off the heat when a room isunoccupied.

In some cases, the monitoring system can process floor contactmonitoring data to improve the convenience and comfort of a resident ofthe property. For example, the system can be programmed to turn on thecoffee machine when a resident steps into the kitchen in the morning, orcan turn on the shower faucet when a resident stands in front of theshower.

An advantage of property control and configuration based on floorcontact monitoring is that it is not intrusive. Surveillance cameras canbe used to track a resident's locations and activities within aproperty. However, cameras can be seen as violating a resident'sprivacy. Additionally, there are certain property areas where camerasare generally not desired, such as bathrooms. In these areas, floorcontact monitoring can be used to monitor for accidental falls or slips,while still allowing for privacy.

Another advantage of property control and configuration based on floorcontact monitoring is that it does not require operator action. Thereare many devices in which a person can contact authorities or caregiversif they fall or need assistance. However, studies show that many of theelderly or ill do not activate these devices because they are physicallyunable to (e.g., they are out of reach of the device). Additionally,some elderly or ill people may be too proud to activate the device,and/or they do not want to draw attention and concern. By performinganalytics on data gathered by the floor monitor, once a fall isdetected, the monitoring system can generate automatic alerts to theauthorities or a caregiver. By learning insights about the day-to-daymovement of the resident, the floor contact sensor is able to identifyunusual activity and take needed action.

An additional advantage of property control and configuration based onfloor contact monitoring is that it can prevent accidents, instead ofresponding to accidents after they happen. For example, if a resident ofa home is limping, or walking more slowly than usual, the resident maynot notice these changes in his or herself. The monitoring system candetect the change based on analyzing floor contact data trends overtime. The monitoring can notify a caregiver of the change in behaviorbefore an accident occurs, so that the caregiver can check on theresident or take the resident to a see a doctor. This may prevent theresident from having an accident in the home.

The details of one or more implementations of the subject matterdescribed in this specification are set forth in the accompanyingdrawings and the description below. Other features, aspects, andadvantages of the subject matter will become apparent from thedescription and the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a system 100 for propertycontrol and configuration based on floor contact monitoring.

The property 105 is monitored by a property monitoring system. Theproperty 105 can be a home, another residence, a place of business, apublic space, or another facility that has a floor contact sensor 110installed and is monitored by a property monitoring system. Themonitoring system includes one or more sensors 130 located at theproperty 105 that collect sensor data related to the property 105. Inthe example of FIG. 1, the resident 115 lives alone. The resident has acaregiver 170 who may live in another home. The property monitoringsystem has the ability to notify the resident 115 and/or caregiver 170of various anomalies and statuses of the property 105. The propertymonitoring system also has the ability to communicate with and controlvarious devices on the property 105.

In stage (A) of FIG. 1, the floor contact sensor 110 collects floorcontact data. The floor contact sensor 110 can be attached to any typeof flooring such as a carpet, tile, or wood floor. The floor contactsensor 110 can also be incorporated into a mat, e.g., a kitchen mat,bath mat, outdoor mat, or garage mat. The floor contact sensor 110 cancollect data related to the resident 115's activities based on sensingcontact with the floor. For example, the floor contact sensor 110 candetect the pressure of the resident 115's feet on the floor.

In some examples, the floor contact sensor 110 can use pressure sensorsto detect movement and weight distribution. Pressure sensors caninclude, for example, strain gauges. A strain gauge is a sensor that canoutput an electrical resistance that varies with applied force. Thus, astrain gauge can convert force, pressure, weight, etc., into a change inelectrical resistance.

When used on tiled floors, the pressure sensors of the floor contactsensor 110 can be built into individual tiles. The tiles can beinstalled and grouted as normal for floor tiles. An example tile canhave four layers. The first layer is a substrate for adhesion to thesubfloor. The second layer is embedded with logic systems and/orinterconnect systems. The third layer can vary in resistance or chargebased on pressure or strain.

The third layer also can have mechanical structures to supporttransmission of force from the surface of the tile. The fourth layer caninclude a number of cosmetic and protective layers, similar to thesurface of an ordinary floor tile. The floor contact sensor 110 canfunction when the tiles are covered by rugs, or when dirty or wet.

The tiles can be any type or size of tile. For example, the tiles can beceramic, porcelain, stone, glass, marble, granite, metal, clay, cement,or slate. The tiles can also be any type of synthetic tile such as vinylor laminate. Larger tiles can contain many individual sensors, whilesmaller tiles may only contain one sensor.

Each tile can be individually capable of measuring the force applied toit from a person or object. In some applications, the tile might bebroken into multiple divisions, as in a sheet of mosaic tiles, eachcapable of measuring an independent force reading corresponding to itssurface area. Each tile can be interchangeable with any other.

Instead of or in addition to pressure sensors, the floor contact sensor110 can include fiber optics on the surface of a tile. The outline of anobject, such as a foot, can be determined based on the fiber opticsensors that are blocked from light.

Instead of or in addition to pressure sensors, the floor contact sensor110 can include capacitive sensors incorporated into a tile. As a personwalks across the tile or otherwise contacts the tile, the capacitivesensors can detect and measure changes to the local electric fieldcaused by the presence of the person. In this way, the capacitivesensors can detect the presence of an object, e.g., the person, as wellas direction and velocity of motion of the object.

When a floor contact sensor 110 is used on a carpeted floor, thepressure sensors can be built into a carpet pad that lies underneath acarpet. Each segment of carpet pad or underlayment can be individuallycapable of measuring the force applied to it from a person or object.The size and separation of sensors can vary. Smaller sensors placedclose together result in higher levels of sensitivity and betterresolution.

Small sensors with high resolution can be sensitive enough todistinguish between different residents 115 in a household based onvarious factors such as their weights, footstep sizes, and walkinggaits. The floor contact sensor 110 can also measure the number ofpoints of contact with the floor. For example, a crawling baby or a petwill have four points of contact, a person who walks with a cane willhave three, and a person walking will have two.

To account for other furniture in a room with a floor contact sensor110, a “base” state can be established. The base state can be a state ofthe floor contact sensor 110 in the absence of human presence and/oractivity. The base state can be established when the floor contactsensor 110 is initially installed, when new residents move in, and anytime furniture is moved. To establish the base state, a user, e.g., aninstaller or resident, can install the floor contact sensor 110 andarrange furniture on the floor. The user then can step out of the roomand verify that no other item, person, or pet is in the room thatusually would not be there. The user can then access the monitoringsystem control unit 135 select that the floor contact sensor 110 is inits base state. This base state allows for the floor contact sensor 110to recognize furniture and other inanimate objects that are normally inthe room so that it can recognize other pressure points that arerelevant to the resident. The weight from the normal objects in the roomno longer register for the floor contact sensor 110. This is similar tosetting a scale to “zero” as a reference point before stepping onto thescale.

After installation, the monitoring system can undergo a training phase,where the monitoring system uses machine learning to identify theresidents 115 of the property and their routines. The monitoring systemcan learn the weights and points of contact indicative of particularpets, children, and adults on the property. When a new object is addedto a room with a floor contact sensor 110, the user can input the newobject into the monitoring system through an interface with the controlunit. Alternatively, the monitoring system can prompt the user toidentify the new object through the control unit or other means.

Other settings can be adjusted by the resident 115 or caregiver 170based on individual circumstances. For example, if the resident uses acane, walker, or wheelchair, the monitoring system can be configured torecognize the pattern of movement when the resident 115 uses theequipment. This allows the floor contact sensor 110 to detect when aresident 115 is using the equipment, and when the resident is not usingthe equipment.

There can be different levels of sensitivity for the floor contactsensor 110. For example, if there is a higher percentage for an incidentto occur in one area of the property compared to other areas, such asthe hallway versus the bedroom, the sensitivity for the floor contactsensor 110 in those more accident-prone areas can be adjustedaccordingly by the installer, resident, or caregiver. If the resident115 has a pet, especially a heavier pet, the resident may set thesensitivity of the floor contact sensor 110 to a lower state so that thefloor contact sensor 110 only registers the activity of humans.

When installing the floor contact sensor 110, a map of the property andlocation of the floor contact sensors can be created. For example, thefloor contact sensor 110 might only be installed in certain areas of thehome. The map of the property can be stored on the monitoring server150. Over time, the monitoring system can use machine learning toimprove the map of the property. For example, a floor contact sensor 110may be installed in an upstairs hallway, and a downstairs living room,but not on the stairs in between. The monitoring system can learn overtime that a resident typically takes 15 seconds to walk up or down thestairs, based on the time between stepping off of one floor contactsensor 110 and stepping on to the other. If the floor contact sensor 110detects the resident stepping from the upstairs hallway toward thestairs, and then after 15 seconds does not detect the resident'sfootsteps in the downstairs living room, the monitoring system canrecognize the anomaly and determine that the resident may have fallen onthe stairs.

When incorporated into portable mats, floor contact sensors can bepositioned and repositioned by the resident 115. The resident 115 canposition the portable mats in locations of interest to the resident 115.For example, the resident 115 can position a portable mat inside a frontdoor, outside a front door, in a garage, near a child's bed, etc. Whenthe resident 115 positions or repositions a particular portable mat, theresident can input the new position of the particular portable mat tothe monitoring server 150, e.g., through a user interface providedthrough an application presented on an electronic device. The monitoringserver 150 can integrate the positions of the portable mats into the mapof the property. Over time, as described above, the monitoring systemcan use a machine learning process to improve or adjust the map of theproperty.

The floor contact sensor 110 sends the floor data to the control unit135 through the network 120. There are multiple means by which thepressure sensors within the floor contact sensor 110 can be transmittedto the control unit 135. For a tile floor, the edges of the tiles canhave electrical contacts that connect to the adjacent tiles in each rowor column. The contacts can interlock in the same way that plastic floortiles have tabs on two edges and receptacles on the other two edges. Thetiles can include as many contacts as necessary to carry electric powerto the pressure sensors and to transmit data signals from the pressuresensors.

In some implementations, the passive sensor elements of each tile can bewired together by row and column, in series, or parallel, such that anactive circuit wired to the edge receives an accumulation of readingsfrom that row or column. The connections or sensors at each tile mayincorporate some redundancy depending on the exact implementation toallow readout along both the row and the column.

In some implementations, an active controller in each tile can beuniquely addressable by row and column. The contacts can provide powerfor this controller as well as a data conduit.

In some implementations, each tile controller can use a wireless dataconnection to the property monitoring system. The connectors can be usedto distribute power to the sensors and wireless transmitter. Thehardwired connection can also be used to determine the position of eachtile in an array. The position of each tile can be determined either viaanalog measurement of signal across the power lines to determine therelative position in the row or column, or by exchanging addresses oridentification with neighboring tiles.

In some implementations, the tiles can be completely wireless. Power canbe provided by an inductive mat installed beneath the tiles, or bywireless signals such as radio frequency signals. For any wireless dataor power process, additional layers of tile may be added to provideantennae adjacent to the tops or bottoms of the tiles.

A floor contact sensor 110 can be integrated into a carpet pad orunderlayment for wood flooring. In this implementation, the orientationsand connections are similar to those for tiles. In a carpet pad orunderlayment, the pressure sensors can connect to one another throughconnections internal to the pad.

Other sensors 130 of the monitoring system collect various sensor datafrom the property 105. For example, 130 the sensors can includethermometers, cameras, microphones, appliance monitors, and water flowmeters. Data from sensors 130 can be correlated with floor contactsensor 110 data to assess the activity of a resident and detect anyanomalies.

For example, a resident may wake most days at 8:00 am, walk to thebathroom, use three gallons of water, walk to the kitchen, turn on thelights, coffee maker, toaster, and radio, then sit in a kitchen chair.The floor contact sensor 110 can detect the resident 115's activitiessuch as getting out of bed, walking to the bathroom, walking to thekitchen, and sitting in the chair. The water flow meter can detect thewater usage in the bathroom. The appliance monitors can detect the powerflowing to the lights, toaster, and radio. Microphones can collect audiofrom the resident's activities around the property, and the monitoringsystem can determine that the audio represents the sounds of flowingwater in the bathroom, and of the radio in the kitchen. Cameras cancollect visual imagery of various areas of the property, and themonitoring system can determine that the visual imagery representsimages of a resident moving throughout the property.

The sensors 130 send the sensor data to the control unit 135 through thenetwork 120. The control unit 135 receives data from the floor contactsensor 110, and the sensor data from the sensors 130. The control unit135 can be, for example, a computer system or other electronic deviceconfigured to communicate with the floor contact sensor 110 and sensors130. The control unit 135 can also perform various management tasks andfunctions for the monitoring system. In some implementations, theresident 115 of the property, a caregiver 170, or another user, cancommunicate with the control unit 135 (e.g., input data, view settings,or adjust parameters) through a physical connection, such as a touchscreen or keypad, through a voice interface, or over a networkconnection.

The floor contact sensor 110 and sensors 130 may communicate with thecontrol unit 135 through a network 120. The network 120 can be anycommunication infrastructure that supports the electronic exchange ofdata between the control unit 135, the floor contact sensor 110, andsensors 130. For example, the network 120 may include a local areanetwork (LAN). The network 120 may be any one or combination of wirelessor wired networks and may include any one or more of Ethernet,Bluetooth, Bluetooth LE, Z-wave, Zigbee, or Wi-Fi technologies.

In stage (B) of FIG. 1, the control unit 135 sends the various data 145to a remote monitoring server 150, where the data 145 can include thedata from the floor contact sensor 110, and sensor data from the sensors130. The control unit 135 also sends the configuration of the system tothe monitoring server 150, indicating whether the system is armed ordisarmed.

The monitoring server 150 may be, for example, one or more computersystems, server systems, or other computing devices that are locatedremotely from the property 105 and that are configured to processinformation related to the monitoring system at the property 105. Insome implementations, the monitoring server 150 is a cloud computingplatform.

The control unit 135 communicates with the monitoring server 150 via along-range data link. The long-range data link can include anycombination of wired and wireless data networks. For example, thecontrol unit 135 can exchange information with the monitoring server 150through a wide-area-network (WAN), a broadband internet connection, acellular telephony network, a wireless data network, a cable connection,a digital subscriber line (DSL), a satellite connection, or otherelectronic means for data transmission. The control unit 135 and themonitoring server 150 may exchange information using any one or more ofvarious communication synchronous or asynchronous protocols, includingthe 802.11 family of protocols, TCP/IP, GSM, 3G, 4G, 5G, LTE, CDMA-baseddata exchange or other techniques. In some implementations, thelong-range data link between the control unit 135 and the monitoringserver 150 is a secure data link (e.g., a virtual private network) suchthat the data exchanged between the control unit 135 and the server 150is encoded to protect against interception by an adverse third party.

In some implementations, various other monitoring system componentslocated at the property 105 communicate directly with the monitoringserver 150 (e.g., sending data directly to the monitoring server 150rather than sending data to the server 150 via the control unit 135).For example, the floor contact sensor 110, the sensors 130, theautomation controls 140, or other devices at the property 105 canprovide some or all of the data 145 to the monitoring server 150, e.g.,through an internet connection.

In some implementations, the control unit 135 processes some or all ofthe data 145 before sending the data 145 to the monitoring server 150.For example, the control unit 135 may compress or encode the data 145 toreduce the bandwidth required to support data transmission. The controlunit 135 can also aggregate, filter, transform, or otherwise processsome or all of the data 145.

In the example of FIG. 1, the data 145 includes floor contact sensor 110data. The data 145 collected from the floor contact sensor 110 includesthe number of footsteps that the resident 115 took on a single day. Thedata 145 includes the number of footsteps in each room of the property105 that has a floor contact sensor 110. The data includes the number offootsteps taken while the monitoring system was armed, and the number offootsteps taken while the monitoring system was unarmed. The data 145may also include data from sensors 130 at the property, such astemperature data, camera data, microphone data, appliance monitor data,and water flow meter data.

In stage (C), the monitoring server 150 analyzes the data 145 receivedfrom the control unit 135. For example, the monitoring server 150 cananalyze the floor contact sensor 110 data to compare the currentactivity level of the resident 115 to previous activity levels. Themonitoring server 150 can track and compare data over any time periodsuch as days, weeks, or months. The monitoring server 150 can detecttrends, such as gradually decreasing activity over time, and anomalies,such as a rapid decrease in activity.

The monitoring server 150 can also detect anomalies in the health orwell-being of the resident 115. For example, the floor contact sensor110 can indicate if a resident 115 has fallen or is lying on the floor.The floor contact sensor 110 can also monitor the resident 115's gait. Aresident 115 may typically walk at a certain speed, with a certainamount of weight on each foot. If the resident 115's gait slows downover time, or if the resident 115 starts to limp, the monitoring server150 can detect this change. If the resident 115 typically uses a canewhen walking, the monitoring server 150 can detect an anomaly if theresident 115 walks without the cane. Similarly, if the resident 115rarely uses a cane, e.g., when the resident 115 feels unstable, themonitoring server can detect an anomaly if the resident 115 increasestheir use of the cane.

The monitoring server 150 can use a rules-based system 155 to determinesystem actions 160. The rules 155 can be default rules, set in advanceby a system administrator. The rules 155 can also be custom rules, setor modified by the resident 115 or another authorized user of themonitoring system. The rules 155 may be general, such that they areapplied to more than one property, or they may be specific to theparticular property 105. In some implementations, the rules 155 can becustomized according to a particular room, the time of day, or otherfactors.

An example rule 155 may state that an activity decrease of 20 percent ormore over 24 hours warrants a notification 165 to a caregiver 170. Inthe example of FIG. 1, the monitoring server 150 evaluates the data 145and determines that the resident 115's activity has decreased by 25percent over the past 24 hours. Thus, the monitoring server 150determines the action 160 of notifying the caregiver 170.

Other rules 155 can be related to a resident 115's routine. For example,the floor contact sensor 110 can detect when a resident 115 steps on thebedroom floor in the morning. Based on floor contact sensor 110 data,the monitoring server 150 may determine that the resident 115 typicallysteps on the bedroom floor between 7:30 am and 8:00 am. A rule 155 maystate that if the floor contact sensor 110 does not detect the resident115 stepping on the bedroom floor by 9:00 am, the monitoring system willperform an action 160, e.g., the monitoring system will notify thecaregiver 170.

In another example, the monitoring server 150 can determine, based onfloor contact sensor 110 data, the length of time that a resident 115 isin a certain room of the property, such as a bathroom. The monitoringserver 150 can determine the length of time that a resident 115 is in acertain room of a property based on data from a floor contact sensor 110in that room, a floor contact sensor 110 in an adjacent room, or both.For example, if a resident steps from a bedroom with a floor contactsensor 110 into a bathroom without a floor contact sensor 110, themonitoring server can determine, based on the resident's footstep path,that the resident 115 has entered the bathroom.

Based on floor contact sensor 110 data, the monitoring server maydetermine that the average time that the resident 115 spends in thebathroom is 10 minutes. A rule 155 may state that if the resident 115spends more than 20 minutes in the bathroom, the monitoring system willperform an action 160, e.g., the monitoring system will notify thecaregiver 170. An exception to this rule could be that the monitoringsystem will not take an action 160 if the resident 115 turns on theshower, as determined by the monitoring server's 150 analysis of waterflow meter data.

The rules 155 can vary depending on the status of the monitoring system.For example, a monitoring system may have settings of “unarmed, stay,”“armed, stay,” and “armed, away.” If the resident 115 has a caregiver,the monitoring system may have additional settings that indicate if theresident is home alone, or home with a caregiver. For example, when theresident 115 is at the property alone, the resident 115 may set themonitoring system to a status such as “armed, stay, alone.” When themonitoring system status is set to “armed, stay, alone,” a rule 155 maybe that if the floor contact sensor 110 detects a fall, the monitoringsystem performs the action 160 of notifying emergency personnel.

When the resident 115 is at the property with a caregiver 170, theresident 115 may set the monitoring system to a status such as “armed,stay, accompanied.” When the monitoring system status is set to “armed,stay, accompanied,” a rule 155 may be that if the floor contact sensor110 detects a fall, the monitoring system requests confirmation from thecaregiver 170 or the resident 115 before taking the action 160 ofnotifying emergency personnel.

In some implementations, the resident 115 or the caregiver 170 cancustomize the one or more rules 155 according to their preferences. Insome implementations, the resident 115 or caregiver 170 can set the oneor more rules 155 through a software application executing on theirmobile devices, through a graphical interface provided by a browser orapplication on a computing device, and/or through interacting with aphysical interface of the control unit 135 of the property monitoringsystem.

The server 150 can determine any of various actions 160 in response toanalyzing the data 145. For example, the server 150 may determineactions 160 that include sending a notification 165 to a mobile device175, sending an instruction to the automation controls 140 to adjust asetting at the property 105, sending a command to a sensor 130 tocollect and send additional sensor data, sounding an alarm of theproperty 105, or sending an alert to a third-party, such as securitypersonnel or emergency services.

In stage (D), the server 150 performs the system actions 160. Forexample, the server 150 can perform the actions 160 by sending a commandto a device of the monitoring system through a signal to the controlunit 135 over the long-range data link. In some implementations, theserver 150 can send a notification 165 and/or alert to the mobile device175 of the caregiver 170. The server 150 can communicate with the mobiledevice 175 through a cellular telephony or wireless data network,through a WAN or LAN, through Wi-Fi, or through another wired orwireless communication link.

In the example of FIG. 1, the monitoring server 150 performs the action160 of sending a notification 165 to the mobile device 175 of thecaregiver 170. The notification 165 informs the caregiver 170 that theresident 115 is less active than usual, based on the reduction of stepsover the course of 24 hours. The notification 165 prompts the caregiver170 to call the resident 115.

In some implementations, the actions 160 may include sending anotification 165 to the mobile device 175 of the caregiver 170 andrequesting a response from the caregiver 170. For example, themonitoring server 150 can send a message requesting permission to callemergency responders, activate an automated system at the property 105,and/or call the resident 115.

Daily activity can be recorded and integrated into the propertymonitoring system. The monitoring system can generate reports to tellthe resident and caregiver whether the floor contact sensor 110 detectslow, medium, or above average activity.

The floor contact sensor 110 can add to other information collected bythe monitoring system to create “smart schedules.” The floor contactsensor 110 can send different notifications 165 to incentivize thecustomer to “move more” or be more active for the day. An example of howthe floor contact sensor 110 could interact with smart schedules couldbe if every day at 8:00 am the resident rises out of bed and walks on afloor that includes a floor contact sensor 110 to the bathroom. Thesmart schedule will know to expect this behavior, and turn on lightsdownstairs, adjust the temperature in the property now that the resident115 is awake, etc. However, if the resident deviates from the usualschedule, and the floor contact sensor 110 does not register movement at8:00 am, then a caregiver may be notified.

The floor contact sensor 110 can collect data on other patterns. Forexample, if the floor contact sensor 110 learns that when the resident115 uses the bathroom in the middle of the night, she is in there for anaverage of 5 minutes by tracking footsteps to and from the bathroom.However, if the resident 115 is in the bathroom for more than theaverage 5 min, it could mean that the resident 115 has fallen in thebathroom and the proper avenues of alerts could be taken.

The control unit 135 can activate one or more property automationcontrols 140, possibly through the network 120. The property automationcontrols 140 connect to one or more devices of the property 105 andenable control of various property actions 160. For example, theproperty automation controls 140 can adjust a thermostat, turn on or offlights, turn on or off cameras, turn on or off faucets and showers, andturn on or off a radio or television.

In some implementations, the data from the floor contact sensor 110 cantrigger other sensors to turn on or off. For example, a resident 115 maynot want cameras and microphones to be turned on all of the time.However, a resident 115 may allow cameras and microphones that only turnon in certain events. For example, if, on a given morning, the floorcontact sensor 110 detects the resident 115 entering the kitchen butthen does not detect power to any kitchen equipment or appliances, themonitoring system can activate a camera in the kitchen so that thecaregiver 170 can look at the camera footage to determine if there hasbeen an accident.

Cameras or microphones may also turn off, or remain off, in response tocertain events detected by the floor contact sensor 110. For example, ifthe floor contact sensor 110 detects a person walking through theproperty, and the monitoring system determines, based on the detectedweight, footstep size, and gait, that the person is the resident 115,the monitoring system may turn off the cameras and microphones. If thefloor contact sensor 110 detects a person walking through the property,and the monitoring system determines, based on the detected weight,footstep size, and gait, that the person is not the resident 115 orother known household member, the monitoring system can continue torecord, or begin to record, using cameras and microphones. In this way,the floor contact sensor 110 can improve security by triggeringsurveillance cameras and microphones when the floor contact sensor 110detects and unknown person, while still maintaining privacy for theresident 115.

Another action 160 that the monitoring system could take is to activatea “personal assistant” electronic device. The personal assistant can askthe resident 115 a verbal question, such as “is everything alright?” Ifthe resident 115 does not respond, or if the resident 115 respondsnegatively, the monitoring system can then notify a caregiver 170 oremergency personnel.

An example of automation controls 140 could be an automatic drain in abathtub. If contact-sensitive tiles are installed in a bathtub, they candetect if a resident 115 falls in the bathtub. The monitoring system canthen take the action 160 of notifying emergency personnel while alsoactivating the automatic bathtub drain.

Another application of the floor contact sensor 110 is to perform anoccupancy check in the property 105. If a resident 115 is concernedabout whether there is an intruder in the home, the resident 115 cancheck the monitoring system to see if there are any people detectedwalking through the property. The floor contact sensor 110, integratedwith motion sensors, surveillance cameras, and door and window sensor,can keep the resident 115 informed if there are any intruders, and canbe programmed to automatically notify emergency personnel in the eventof intrusion.

An application that can be used with elderly or ill individuals is toassist with confusion of daily schedules. A resident 115 may becomeconfused on whether it is daytime or nighttime and try to exit theproperty 105 at night. If the floor contact sensor 110 detects that anelderly or ill resident 115 is approaching the front door at night, themonitoring system can proactively lock the front door, turn on videocameras, and send a caretaker 170 a notification 165 about possibleconfusion on behalf of the resident 115. With the floor contact sensor110, there is an extra level of protection against confusion byproactively sending alerts before the resident 115 leaves the property105.

In some examples, the floor contact sensor 110 can also be used inconjunction with a door contact sensor to determine a direction fromwhich a door was opened or closed. For example, a door contact sensorcan determine when a door opens and when a door closes. The floorcontact sensor 110 can be positioned inside the door, outside the door,or both. When a person exits, a sequence of sensor data may include thefloor contact sensor 110 detecting weight inside the door, the doorcontact sensor detecting the door opening, the floor contact sensor 110detecting weight outside the door, and the door closing. Based on thesequence of sensor data, the monitoring system can determine that aperson exited through the door. A similar process can be used todetermine when a person enters through the door.

In some examples, the monitoring system can use floor contact sensordata to trigger a camera, e.g., a surveillance camera, a doorbellcamera, etc., to record and/or store camera data. For example, the floorcontact sensor 110 can be integrated into a doormat and placed outsideof a door to a property, e.g., on a front porch. The floor contactsensor 110 may detect a person standing on the doormat and can sendcollected floor contact sensor data to the monitoring server. Themonitoring server can then send a command to a doorbell camera tocapture images of the front porch.

In some examples, the monitoring system can use floor contact sensordata to verify video analysis of camera images, to detect video analysisinaccuracies, or both. For example, a doorbell camera may capture imagesof a person standing on a front porch, while the floor contact sensor110 detects the weight of the person standing on the doormat. Themonitoring system may perform video analysis, e.g., facial recognition,on the camera images. Based on facial recognition, the monitoring systemmay determine that the person is a particular resident of the property.The monitoring system can verify the identity by referencing a storedweight of the particular resident and comparing the stored weight to thedetected weight. If the stored weight and the detected weight vary bymore than a threshold amount, the monitoring system may determine thatthe video analysis is inaccurate.

In some examples, the monitoring system can determine a likelihood ofcertain occurrences based on floor contact sensor data, alone or inconjunction with other sensor data. For example, based on floor contactsensor data indicating a weight of a detected person and based on storedweight data for residents of a property, the monitoring system candetermine a likelihood that the detected person is a resident of theproperty.

In some examples, the monitoring system can use floor contact sensordata to augment determinations based on other sensor data. For example,the monitoring system may perform video analysis on camera imagescaptured in poor lighting conditions and/or in conditions that obscurethe camera images, e.g., in rainy conditions. Based on facialrecognition, the monitoring system may determine a likelihood that theperson is a particular resident of the property. The monitoring systemcan augment the facial recognition analysis using the floor contactsensor data by referencing a stored weight of the particular resident ofthe property. If the stored weight and the detected weight match withina threshold deviation, the monitoring system can determine an increasedlikelihood that the detected person is the particular resident.

The floor contact sensor 110 can be used in properties where there aremultiple people, as well as pets. Through machine learning, the floorcontact sensor 110 can learn the daily, weekly, and monthly patterns ofmovement of individuals in the household. The floor contact sensor 110can create profiles of individuals in a household based on eachindividual's weight, walking gait, and activities. For example, thefloor contact sensor 110 can identify children based on their lesserweight, small footsteps, and heavy, quick footsteps.

In some examples, the resident 115 can configure the monitoring systemto detect certain activities. In some examples, the resident 115 canplace a portable floor mat that includes a floor contact sensor 110 in aparticular location for detecting certain activities. For example, theresident 115 can place the portable floor mat near a child's bed inorder to detect the child getting out of bed at night. In anotherexample, the resident 115 can place the portable floor mat near arefrigerator in order to detect people approaching the refrigerator.

In another example, the resident 115 can place a mat that includes afloor contact sensor 110 near or under a pet food dish. The floorcontact sensor 110 can detect a weight of pet food remaining in thedish. The floor contact sensor 110 can also detect weight of a petstanding on the mat. Based on the floor contact sensor data, themonitoring system can determine times, frequencies, durations, andquantities of pet food consumption. The floor contact sensor can alsocollect data indicating the weight of the pet.

Based on the floor contact sensor data, the monitoring system canidentify anomalies in pet behavior, e.g., if the frequency at which thepet approaches the food bowl decreases or increases. The monitoringsystem can also identify the weight of food in the food bowl. Based onthe floor contact sensor data, the monitoring system can generate alertsfor the resident 115. For example, the monitoring system can generate analert to the user indicating that the food bowl is empty. In someexamples, based on the floor contact sensor, the monitoring system cancontrol an automatic pet feeder in order to release food or to stopreleasing food.

In some examples, based on the floor contact sensor data, the monitoringsystem can determine if pet food is consumed by a pet other than theintended pet. For example, the portable floor mat including the floorcontact sensor can be placed near a food dish containing food intendedfor a fifteen-pound pet. The resident can input a setting to themonitoring system indicating that the weight of the intended pet isfifteen pounds. The monitoring system can then detect if a weight of apet consuming the food differs from the set weight by an amount greaterthan a deviation, e.g. plus or minus ten percent. Thus, if a petweighting fifty pounds approaches the food bowl, steps on the floor mat,and consumes the food, the monitoring system can determine that theweight of the pet exceeds the set weight by more than ten percent. Themonitoring system can also determine that the weight of the fooddecreases due to the fifty-pound pet consuming the food. The monitoringsystem can then generate a notification to the resident 115 indicatingthat the food was consumed by a pet other than the intended pet.

Although the example in FIG. 1 is of a floor contact monitoringapplication, contact sensors can be integrated into tiles used forapplications other than floors. For example, contact-sensitive tiles canbe used on a countertop, backsplash, wall, shower floor, sink, orbathtub. The connections, functions, and integration ofcontact-sensitive tiles in these applications are the same as for floorcontact monitoring tiles.

In a countertop example, contact-sensitive tiles can be used to detectan impact, such as if a resident 115 falls and hits his or her head on acounter. Additionally, if countertop tiles detect a resident 115frequently leaning on the countertop for support, it may be anindication that the resident 115 needs assistance with walking.

In a sink, contact-sensitive tiles can be used to detect items placed inthe sink. For example, the monitoring system can detect the presence ofdishes or other items when they are placed in the sink, based onincreased weight detected by the contact-sensitive tiles. The monitoringsystem can then determine a length of time passed since dishes wereadded to the sink.

In a property such as a rental property, in response to the monitoringsystem detecting dishes in the sink, the monitoring system can generatea notification to the property owner. For example, the monitoring systemcan send a notification to the property owner indicating that disheshave been left in the sink for more than a threshold period of time,e.g., twenty-four hours. In this way, the property owner can receive anindication of the cleanliness of the rental property.

In a bathtub or hot tub, the tiles can be used to detect if a resident115 has been in the bathtub too long, or if a person in the bathtub isremaining completely still for a period of time. This could indicatethat the person is unconscious, and could trigger the system to notifyemergency personnel. Contact-sensitive tiles in a bathtub can becalibrated to account for water in the bathtub.

Contact-sensitive tiles in a bathtub can be calibrated using a similarprocess as can be used to calibrate the floor contact sensor 110 of aroom. To account for water in a bathtub with contact-sensitive tiles, a“base” state can be established. The base state can be established, forexample, when the contact-sensitive tiles are initially installed, orwhen new residents move in. To establish the base state, a user, e.g.,an installer or resident, can install the contact-sensitive tiles andfill the bathtub with an amount of water that could be used for a bath.The user can then access the monitoring system control unit 135 andselect that the bathtub in its base state. This base state allows forthe contact-sensitive tiles to recognize water in the bathtub. Theweight from the water in the bathtub no longer registers for thecontact-sensitive tiles. This is similar to setting a scale to “zero” asa reference point before stepping onto it.

Once the contact-sensitive tiles in the bathtub are calibrated, themonitoring system can detect the presence of the resident 115 when theresident 115 enters the bathtub. For example, the monitoring system candetermine that the resident 115 is in the bathtub based on increasedweight detected by the contact-sensitive tiles. The monitoring systemcan also determine the presence of the resident 115 in the bathtub basedon the distribution of weight in the bathtub. For example,contact-sensitive tiles in a bathtub full of only water may detect aneven pressure throughout the surface of the bathtub. Once the resident115 enters the bathtub, the detected pressure will be unevenlydistributed between the contact-sensitive tiles. The monitoring systemcan determine that the resident 115 is in the bathtub based on theuneven distribution of the detected pressure.

In some examples, a floor contact sensor 110 can be installed or placedin a garage. The monitoring system can then detect and track vehicularmovement based on changes in weight detected by the floor contact sensor110. The floor contact sensor 110 can detect a vehicle entering,exiting, and parked in the garage. While a vehicle is parked in thegarage, the floor contact sensor 110 can detect changes in a weight ofthe vehicle. Based on changes in weight, the monitoring system candetermine when a person, or people, enter and exit the vehicle.

In some examples, based on a detected increase in weight of the vehicle,the monitoring system can determine an identity of the person enteringthe vehicle. For example, the monitoring system can reference storedweights for residents of the property to determine the identity of theperson. In some examples, the monitoring system can determine if theincrease in weight of the vehicle is due to an adult entering thevehicle or due to a child entering the vehicle. In response to detectingonly a child entering the vehicle, the monitoring system can perform oneor more actions, such as generating a notification for a resident of theproperty.

In some examples, based on a detected increase in weight of the vehicle,the monitoring system can send a command to one or more components ordevices at the property. For example, in response to detecting a personentering the vehicle, the monitoring system can send a command to agarage door to open. In some examples, in response to detecting a personentering the vehicle, the monitoring system can send a command to one ormore cameras to capture images, e.g., of the garage or areas near thegarage.

Though described above as being performed by a particular component ofsystem 100 (e.g., the control unit 135 or the monitoring server 150),any of the various control, processing, and analysis operations can beperformed by either the control unit 135, the monitoring server 150, oranother computer system of the system 100. For example, the control unit135, the monitoring server 150, or another computer system can analyzethe data from the floor contact sensor 110 and from the sensors 130 todetermine the actions 160. Similarly, the control unit 135, themonitoring server 150, or another computer system can control thevarious sensors 130, the floor contact sensor 110, and/or the propertyautomation controls 140 to collect data or control device operation.

FIG. 2A-2C are diagrams illustrating examples of rental property controland configuration based on floor contact monitoring.

In the example of FIG. 2A, a floor contact sensor 210 a is installed inthe living room of a rental property. The rental property can be, forexample, a short-term vacation rental property, or a long-term leasedproperty. To prevent noise and damage to the property that can be causedby large parties, the property owners may write the terms of the rentalagreement limiting the number of people allowed in the property to sixpeople.

The floor contact sensor 210 a can be used to monitor the occupancy ofthe rental property. In the example of FIG. 2A, eleven people aregathered in the living room for a party. Nine guests 220 a are standingon the floor, while two guests 220 a are sitting on the sofa. The floorcontact sensor detects the footsteps of the guests 220 a who arestanding. The floor contact sensor can detect the weight of the guests220 a, and the sizes of their footsteps. The data collected by the floorcontact sensor can be used by the monitoring system to determine theapproximate number of people standing in the living room.

The floor contact sensor detects eighteen footsteps. The monitoringsystem analyzes the floor contact sensor 210 a data to determine thesizes of the eighteen footsteps. The monitoring system determines thatthe eighteen footsteps include footsteps that are nine different sizes,with two footsteps per size. Additionally, the monitoring serveranalyzes the floor contact sensor 210 a data to determine that there arenine different detected objects on the floor, each weighing between 120and 220 pounds.

The monitoring system analyzes the floor contact sensor 210 a data anddetermines that the weight of the sofa is different from its baseweight. The base weight of the sofa is 200 pounds. The sofa currentlyweighs 500 pounds, which is 300 pounds more than the base weight.

The monitoring system evaluates the data collected by the floor contactsensor 210 a to estimate the number of guests 220 a in the living room.Based on the nine different footstep sizes, and the nine detectedobjects with weights between 120 and 220 pounds, the monitoring systemcan estimate that there are nine people standing in the living room.Based on the 300 pound increased weight of the sofa, the monitoringsystem can estimate that there are between one and three people sittingon the sofa.

The guests 220 a in the living room may walk around the living room,enter and exit the living room and alternate between standing andsitting. Thus, the monitoring system might not be able to determine theexact number of guests 220 a, but can estimate the number of guests 220a. In this example, the monitoring system estimates the number of peoplein the living room is between ten and fifteen.

The monitoring system can correlate the floor contact sensor 210 a datawith other sensor data. For example, if there are a large number ofpeople gathered in a room, the temperature of the room will rise overtime. Additionally, a door sensor can detect how many times the frontdoor 230 a opens and shuts, which can assist the monitoring system inapproximating the number of guests.

The monitoring system analyzes the data 235 a from the floor contactsensor 210 a and the sensors at the property. The monitoring systemmakes a determination that there are approximately 10 to 15 people inthe living room, and takes an action 240 a. The monitoring system takesthe action 240 a of notifying the property owner of the high occupancyat the property. The monitoring system sends a notification to theproperty owner's mobile device that there are approximately 10 to 15people gathered in the living room. This can prompt the property ownerto visit the property or to call the occupants and ask if they arethrowing a party, violating the terms of the lease.

In the example of FIG. 2B, a floor contact sensor 210 b is installed inthe living room of a rental property. To prevent damage to the propertythat can be caused by moving furniture and appliances, the propertyowners may write the terms of the rental agreement forbidding themovement of furniture and appliance at the property.

The floor contact sensor 210 b can be used to monitor the location offurniture in the rental property. In the example of FIG. 2B, theoccupants of the property move the sofa from location 215 b to location220 b in the living room. The floor contact sensor 210 b has a basestate with the sofa at location 215 b. The floor contact sensor 210 bbase state includes the sofa at a weight of 200 pounds spread over afloor area of 30 square feet at location 215 b. When the occupants movethe sofa to location 220 b, the sensors at location 215 b sense a rapiddecrease of pressure to 0 pounds. The sensors at location 220 b thensense a rapid increase of pressure to 200 pounds spread over an area of30 square feet. The data collected by the floor contact sensor 210 b canbe used by the monitoring system to determine that a large piece offurniture was moved from location 215 b to location 220 b.

The monitoring system analyzes the data 235 a from the floor contactsensor 210 b. The monitoring system makes a determination that a pieceof furniture has moved, and takes an action 240 b. The monitoring systemtakes the action 240 b of notifying the property owner of the furnituremovement. The monitoring system sends a notification to the propertyowner's mobile device that furniture movement has been detected in theliving room.

The floor contact sensor 210 b can be used by property owners to detectother causes of damage as well. For example, the floor contact sensorcan be configured to detect small pressure increases that may indicate aspill on the floor or carpet. The monitoring system can alert occupantsto spills when they happen, so that the occupants can quickly clean thespill. This can help property owners identify the cause and timing ofincidents that cause damage to the property. For example, an occupantmay tell the property owner that a floor stain existed before move-in.The property owner can use the floor contact sensor data 235 b todetermine precisely when a spill occurred to cause the floor stain.

In the example of FIG. 2C, a floor contact sensor 210 c is installed inthe living room of a rental property. To reduce the power consumption ofthe property, the property owners or the occupants can configure themonitoring system to detect when a room is unoccupied, and to turn offunnecessary electrical or gas-powered equipment for that room. Toimprove security, the owners or occupants can also configure themonitoring system to detect when the property is unoccupied, and toautomatically lock any unlocked external doors and arm the monitoringsystem when no one is home.

The floor contact sensor 210 c can be used to track the movement ofoccupants to determine if the property, or a room within the property,is unoccupied. In the example of FIG. 2C, the occupant 215 c departs theliving room through the front door 230 c. The floor contact sensor 210 ctracks the footsteps of the occupant 215 c, which lead through theliving room to the front door 230 c. The floor contact sensor 210 c basestate includes the sofa at a weight of 200 pounds spread over a floorarea of 30 square feet. The floor contact sensor 210 c detects the sofaat its normal weight.

Other sensors on the property collect data as well, and send that datato the control unit of the property monitoring system. For example, theHVAC system indicates that the thermostat 205 c is set to 70 degrees,and the heat is on in the living room.

Appliance monitors, such as electrical current monitors connected topower cords, measure the current flowing to the living room lamp 225 cand television 220 c. The appliance monitors send data to the monitoringsystem indicating that the lamp 225 c and television 220 c are poweredon. A door sensor connected to the front door 230 c indicates that thefront door 230 c is shut but unlocked. The monitoring system status isunarmed.

The monitoring system analyzes the data 235 c from the floor contactsensor 210 c and other sensors at the property. Based on the occupant215 c's footsteps, the monitoring system determines that the occupanthas departed the living room through the front door 230 c. Based on thenormal sofa weight measured by the floor contact sensor 210 c, themonitoring system determines that no one is sitting on the sofa. Basedon both of these determinations, the monitoring system concludes thatthe living room is unoccupied.

Based on the appliance monitor data, the monitoring system determinesthat the TV 220 c and lamp 225 c are powered on, and that the thermostat205 c is set to heat to 70 degrees. Based on the door sensor, themonitoring system determines that the front door is unlocked. Themonitoring system makes a determination that the occupant 215 c hasdeparted the property without locking the front door 230 c, while the TV220 c and lamp 225 c are powered on, the thermostat 205 c is set to heatthe living room to 70 degrees, and the monitoring system is unarmed.

The monitoring system can take one or more actions 240 c based onanalyzing the data 235 c. For example, the monitoring system can takethe action 240 c of sending a notification to the occupant's mobiledevice. The notification can request confirmation that the monitoringsystem should automatically turn off the TV 220 c and lamp 225 c, adjustthe thermostat 205 c, lock the front door 230 c, and arm the monitoringsystem.

The example of FIG. 2C can be extended to include any automaticoperation of appliances or equipment based on the occupancy of roomswithin a property. For example, a monitoring system can be configured toautomatically turn on lights and turn on heat or air conditioning in aroom as a person approaches the room, based on footsteps detected by afloor monitor. Likewise, a monitoring system can be configured toautomatically turn off lights and turn off heat or air conditioning whena person departs a room, based on the detected footsteps.

In a bathroom, floor contact sensing incorporated into a tile floor canintegrate with automatic water control. For example, if the floorcontact sensor detects an occupant standing near a shower, themonitoring system can automatically turn the shower on to a comfortabletemperature, and turn on the bathroom ventilation system. Likewise, if aperson steps up to a bathroom vanity, monitoring system canautomatically start the flow of water from a faucet. When the floorcontact sensor detects footsteps walking away from the vanity, themonitoring system can automatically stop the water from the faucet.

In another example, to conserve energy, heated floor tiles can turn ontheir heating element only when a person is standing on them. Each tilecan include one or more heating element, and the system could be used toprovide heating precisely where the resident is standing. In a piezoresistive solution, the change in resistance can be used directly toboth sense the person's location and to increase the power dispersed ata given tile. The floor heat can shut off if no one is standing in thebathroom.

In a bedroom, floor contact sensing can detect when a person goes to bedat night. For example, based on detecting footsteps approaching a bed,and an increase in the weight of the bed, the monitoring system can beprogrammed to automatically shut off lights, turn on a speaker playingsleep sounds, and lower the thermostat heat setting.

FIG. 3A-3C are diagrams illustrating examples of commercial propertycontrol and configuration based on floor contact monitoring.

In the example of FIG. 3A, a floor contact sensor 310 a is installed ina retail property. The retail property can be, for example, a store thatstocks and displays goods, and sells the goods from the store. Toincrease the sales from the store, the store owner can configure themonitoring system to detect customer foot-traffic patterns within thestore, and to generate reports on the comparative popularity of displaysin the store.

In the example of FIG. 3A, customer 305 a enters the store, walks todisplay 315 a, walks to display 320 a, picks up an item to purchase,then walks to the checkout counter 325 a to make the purchase. The floorcontact sensor can track the footstep path of customer 305 a based onher weight, walking gait, and footstep size measured when she enters thestore. The floor contact sensor can also track the amount of time thatcustomer spent looking at display 315 a, and the amount of time spentlooking at display 320 a. Additionally, the floor contact sensor candetect the reduction of the weight of display 320 a and the increase ofthe weight of customer 305 a when customer 305 a removes an item fromdisplay 320 a.

The monitoring system analyzes the data 335 a from the floor contactsensor 310 a. Based on the customer 305 a's footsteps and weighttracking, the monitoring system determines that the occupant selected topurchase an item from display 320 a.

The floor contact sensor 310 a detects footstep patterns for allcustomers who enter the store over a period of time such as a day, week,or month. The monitoring system can aggregate the data for allcustomers. In an example day, the monitoring system determines that tencustomers repeat the same walking path as customer 305 a. The same day,four customers walk to display 315 a, pick up an object, and then walkto the checkout counter 325 a. Three customers walk to display 315 a andthen leave the store.

Based on the aggregated floor contact sensor data 335 a, the monitoringsystem concludes that display 320 a contains items that are moredesirable than display 315 a. The monitoring system takes the action 340a of notifying the store owner of the observed trend. In this case, themonitoring system produces a report indicating that display 320 a ismore popular than display 315 a.

The monitoring system can make a recommendation to the store owner tomove items from display 320 a to display 315 a. Since display 315 a iscloser to the doorway, the items from display 315 a are more frequentlyseen from outside of the store, and are the first items that customerssee when they enter the store. By moving items from display 320 a todisplay 315 a, the store owner may be able to increase the amount offoot traffic in the store, increase the percentage of customers who makea purchase, and satisfy customers by making the most desirable itemseasy to find upon entering the store.

The store owner can also use the floor contact sensor data 335 a forother purposes. For example, if the store owner wants to promote acertain product, the store owner can place the product in a high trafficarea in the store. If there are certain areas of the store where crowdsform, the store owner can spread out high-interest merchandise to otherareas of the store to reduce the crowding.

The store owner can configure the monitoring system to take automaticactions based on customer foot traffic. For example, the monitoringsystem can be configured to automatically activate lighting, sounds,and/or fragrance as a customer approaches a display. This would allowthe store owner to save energy by only turning on certain lighting,sounds, and fragrances when a customer is near a display.

While customer foot traffic can be obtained from other means such asdoor entry sensors and surveillance cameras, a floor contact sensorprovides more detailed data and can offer more automation. Surveillancecameras may be blocked by objects and people, and therefore may not beable to capture images from an entire property. Additionally, whilecamera footage can be used to estimate the occupancy of a store, itwould be difficult to use camera footage to track a customer's paththrough a store. Floor contact sensor data 335 a can provide detailedinformation on each customer, such as when they enter, which displaysthey examine, how long they look at each display, and if they ultimatelymake a purchase before leaving.

In the example of FIG. 3B, a floor contact sensor 310 b is installed ina retail property. To protect the store from shoplifting, the storeowner can configure the monitoring system to detect customer foottraffic patterns within the store that may indicate shoplifting, and togenerate alerts to notify store employees of shoplifting.

In the example of FIG. 3B, a shoplifter 320 b enters the store, walks toa display 315 b, takes an item off the shelf, then runs toward the exit.The floor contact sensor 310 b can track the footstep path of shoplifter320 b based on his weight and footstep size measured when he enters thestore. The floor contact sensor 310 b can also detect the shoplifter 320b's gait, including the speed of his footsteps and the level of impactwith the floor. The shoplifter 320 b's gait changes when he switchesfrom walking to running. The floor contact sensor 310 b can detect thereduction of the weight of display 315 b and the increase of the weightof shoplifter 320 b when the shoplifter 320 b removes an item from thedisplay 315 b.

The monitoring system analyzes the data 335 b from the floor contactsensor 310 b. Based on the shoplifter 320 b's footstep path, increase inweight, and shift in gait from walking to running, the monitoring systemdetermines that the shoplifter is attempting to remove an item from thestore without paying.

Based on the determination that shoplifter 320 b is attempting toshoplift, the monitoring system takes one or more actions 340 b. Themonitoring system can take the action 340 b of notifying the storeemployee 325 b of the possible shoplifting through a notification on thestore computer 330 b. The monitoring system can also automaticallyactivate an alarm 306 b, turn on a surveillance camera 305 b, and/ornotify authorities.

If the store employee 325 b is not able to react and stop the shoplifter320 b, the floor contact sensor data 335 b can be referenced afterwardsto help identify a suspect. The floor contact sensor data 335 b includesweight and footstep size information that can help authorities identifythe shoplifter. Additionally, the exact time of the incident can bedetermined from the floor contact sensor data 335 b indicating when theitem was removed from display 315 b, and when the shoplifter 320 bstarted to run. The store employee can look at surveillance camera 305 bvideo footage from that exact time to help identify the shoplifter 320b.

In the example of FIG. 3C, a floor contact sensor 310 c is installed ina commercial property. The commercial property can be any commercialproperty that has an area 315 c that is off-limits to customers. Forexample, the area 315 c may be off-limits to customers because it isdangerous, or because it contains valuable or delicate items. To preventcustomers from entering the restricted area, the property owner canconfigure the monitoring system to detect customer foot-traffic patternswithin the property that indicate someone approaching the restrictedarea 315 c.

In the example of FIG. 3C, a customer 320 c enters the property andwalks past the employee 325 c toward a restricted area 315 c. The floorcontact sensor can track the footstep path of customer 320 c based onhis weight, walking gait, and footstep size measured when he enters thestore.

The monitoring system can be programmed to recognize employee walkingpatterns in order to differentiate customers from employees. This canallow employees to walk into the restricted area 315 c withouttriggering alerts.

The monitoring system analyzes the data 335 c from the floor contactsensor 310 c. Based on the customer 320 c's path, the monitoring systemdetermines that the customer 320 c is approaching the restricted area315 c. This can allow a store employee 325 c to react and prevent thecustomer 320 c from entering the restricted area 315 c, before hearrives at the restricted area 315 c and opens the door.

Based on the determination that the customer 320 c is approaching therestricted area 315 c, the monitoring system takes one or more actions340 c. The monitoring system can take the action 340 c of notifying thestore employee 325 c of the customer's path, through a notification onthe store computer 330 c. The monitoring system can also automaticallyactivate an alarm 306 c and/or turn on a surveillance camera 305 c.Additionally, the monitoring system can activate a speaker that warnsthe customer 320 c that he or she is approaching a restricted area.

In some implementations, it may be desirable to differentiateindividuals on a property to the floor monitor. For example, on acommercial property, certain people, such as employees, may be allowedin certain areas, while customers are not allowed in those areas. Inthese implementations, special shoes or shoe covers can be worn byindividuals to identify that individual to the floor monitor.

For example, in an assisted living or medical facility, it may bedesirable to differentiate employees from patients. In this case,employees can wear a certain shoe covering, while patients can weardifferent shoe coverings. If a patient wanders into an off-limits area,the floor contact sensor can send the data to the monitoring system,which can generate a notification to the staff.

A shoe covering identification system can also be used to furtherdifferentiate individuals. For example, in an assisted living facility,kitchen staff may not be allowed in residential areas of the facility.Patients in a certain wing of the facility may not be allowed in otherwings of the facility. Different categories of shoe coverings can beused to enable the floor contact sensor to detect when someone enters anarea where they are not allowed.

In addition to, or instead of, shoe coverings, employees can weartrackers to identify themselves to the monitoring system as employees.For example, an employee can wear a certain wristband or shoe clip thatidentifies the employee to the monitoring system. The wristband caninclude various sensors such as GPS sensors. The wristband can alsoinclude transmitters such as ultrasonic sound transmitters or radiofrequency transmitters that emit signals specific to that employee. Ifan employee approaches an area of a property that is off-limits tonon-employees, the floor contact sensor sends the data to the monitoringsystem. The monitoring system can correlate the floor contact sensordata with data from the employee wristband. For example, the monitoringsystem may determine that the employee's GPS location corresponds to thefloor contact sensor's detected location of movement. The monitoringsystem may also determine that ultrasonic receivers and/or radiofrequency receivers installed near the off-limits area are detectingtransmitted signals from the employee's wristband. The monitoring systemcan correlate the floor contact sensor data and employee tracker data todetermine that the person approaching the off-limits area of theproperty is an employee, and can determine to take no action.

The floor contact sensor can be used to monitor employee activity in abusiness setting. For example, the owner of a large retail store mayrequire that the employees circulate throughout the store to helpcustomers. The floor contact sensor can be used to track employeeactivity and make sure that all areas of the store are evenly covered.

The floor contact sensor can also be used for occupational healthpurposes. For example, a floor contact sensor can monitor how long anemployee has been sitting, how long they have been standing, and howlong it has been since the employee worked without taking a break. Themonitoring system can generate periodic reports for the employee and theemployer to review. The monitoring system can also generate alerts toemployees notifying them when it is time for a break, based on how longthey have been standing, or how long they have been in one location.

The examples of FIGS. 3A-3C can also be applied to home-basedapplications. There may be certain areas of a residential areas that aredesignated as “off limits.” In some cases, the areas may be off limitsonly to certain residents, only at certain times, or both. For example,a pet may not be allowed in a bedroom. Additionally, children may bekept away from hazards such as pools, stoves, and fireplaces. Childrenmight not be allowed near a liquor cabinet at any time, and might beallowed near a refrigerator only during the day time.

A floor contact sensor can be used to monitor for specific people orpets approaching dangerous or off-limits areas. For example, if a petenters an off-limits area, the monitoring system can activate anautomated speaker that emits a high-pitched sound, so that the pet thenleaves the area. Likewise, if a child approaches a fireplace, themonitoring system can activate an alarm to notify adults that the childis approaching a dangerous area.

In some examples, based on floor contact sensor data indicating a personin or approaching an off-limits area, the monitoring system can send acommand to one or more cameras to capture images of the area. In somecases, the resident can input rules and settings that can vary dependingon factors such as a time of day, a day of week, an occupancy of theproperty, etc. For example, the resident may input a setting that themonitoring system should capture images of any person approaching therefrigerator after ten o'clock at night on weekdays, and after eleveno'clock at night on weekends. In another example, the resident may inputa setting that the monitoring system should capture images of any personstanding in front of the refrigerator for longer than one minute.

In some examples, based on floor contact sensor data indicating a changein weight, the monitoring system can send a command to one or morecameras to capture images of the area. For example, a floor contactsensor can be installed or placed under a liquor cabinet. Floor contactsensor data may indicate a decrease in weight of the liquor cabinet. Theresident may input a setting that in response to detecting the decreasein weight of the liquor cabinet, the monitoring system should send acommand to one or more cameras to capture images of the liquor cabinet.The cameras may capture images for a set period of time, e.g., oneminute, or until triggered to stop capturing images by detection of anevent or by a command from the monitoring system.

FIGS. 4A-4D show example grid patterns than can be used for a floorcontact monitor. The segment of the floor contact sensor in FIGS. 4A-4Dincludes a 6 by 6 square grid pattern. In this example, each square ofthe grid indicates one tile. Dark tiles indicate high levels ofpressure, lighter tiles indicate lower levels of pressure, and whitetiles indicate no detected pressure.

The grid pattern shown in FIG. 4 can also be used for carpet pads orwood floor underlayment. When embedded in a carpet pad or underlayment,the individual sensors can be spaced in a grid-like pattern. In theexample of a carpet pad or underlayment, each square would represent onesensor within the sensor array.

FIG. 4A shows an example of individual tile readouts for a personstanding. The system would typically sense a standing person's weight asone or two areas distributed over the number of tiles that their feetcovered. Two dark tiles 410 a and 420 a indicate the highest pressurelocations of an individual's two feet while the individual is standing.

Should the individual slip and fall, the system could first measure theimpact directly across whichever tiles they fell upon. The measuredimpact could be used to estimate the severity of a fall. The measuredimpact could also differentiate between a fall and someone lying on theground, as for exercise.

After a fall, the individual's weight would be distributed over moretiles if the individual is laying prone. FIG. 4B shows an example ofindividual tile readouts for a person laying on the floor. The darkerarea 410 b likely indicates the location of the heavier torso, whilelighter area 420B might indicate the location of the lighter limbs.

If the pressure measurements remain constant for a period of time afterthe fall, the constant pressure readings could indicate that theindividual is unconscious or otherwise immobile. The floor contactsensor can also observe pressure variations indicating movement whileprone, or local increases in pressure as the individual attempts to risefrom the ground using their hands, feet, and other points of contact. Ifthe pressure readings indicate that the person has been lying on thefloor for greater than a threshold period of time, such as severalminutes, the monitoring system can request assistance from a caregiveror emergency personnel.

In FIGS. 4A and 4B, each individual tile transmits its measured pressureto the control unit of the monitoring system. In FIGS. 4C and 4D, thefloor contact sensor transmits data to the control unit only through theedges of the floor monitor. To do this, the floor contact sensor addsthe pressure in each row and column of sensors in the array.

In FIG. 4C, an individual is standing on the floor, with his or her feetexerting the most pressure on tiles 410 c and 420 c. The pressuremeasured in each column and row of the array are added together. Forexample, the pressure on tile 420 c is added to the pressure on tile 430c to obtain the total pressure for that row, indicated by the darksquare 440 c. In the example in FIG. 4C, the floor contact sensor rowand column totals result in two distinct points of contact in both rowsand columns.

In FIG. 4D, an individual is laying on the floor, with his or her bodyexerting pressure across multiple tiles. The pressure measured in eachcolumn and row of the array are added together. The summation of rows410 d and columns 420 d in FIG. 4D is less distinctive than thesummations in 4C, because the weight of the body is more evenlydistributed across the floor. The floor contact sensor sends the row andcolumn summation data to the monitoring system, which can identify thata person is laying on the floor.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating an example of a process for propertycontrol and configuration based on floor contact monitoring. Process 500can be performed by one or more computer systems, for example, themonitoring server 150 of system 100. In some implementations, some orall of the process can be performed by the control unit 135 of thesystem 100, or by another computer system located at the monitoredproperty.

Briefly, process 500 includes receiving floor sensor data, and sensordata from a sensor other than the floor sensor. Process 500 alsoincludes analyzing the floor sensor data and the sensor data. Process500 includes performing a monitoring system action in response toanalyzing the floor sensor data and the sensor data.

In more detail, the process 500 includes receiving, from a floor sensorand by a monitoring system that is configured to monitor a property,floor sensor data that indicates an amount of pressure applied to aportion of a floor of the property (502). In some examples, the floorsensor is integrated into a floor surface. The floor surface caninclude, for example, a tile, a carpet, a mat, a floorboard, a pad, oran underlayment. In some examples, the floor of the property includestiles. In these examples, the floor sensor can include pressure sensors,with each pressure sensor integrated into one of the tiles. Eachpressure sensor can output a measured amount of pressure applied to therespective tile. In some examples, the floor sensor can include a numberof strain gauges, fiber optic sensors, or capacitive sensors. In someexamples, the amount of pressure applied to the portion of the floor ofthe property can include an indication of either a presence or absenceof pressure applied to the portion of the floor.

A floor contact sensor can be attached to any type of flooring such as acarpet, tile, or floorboard. The floor contact sensor can collect datarelated to residents' activities based on sensing contact with thefloor. For example, the floor contact sensor can detect the pressure ofthe resident's feet on the floor. The floor contact sensor uses pressuresensors to detect movement and weight distribution. Floor contactsensors provide, to the monitoring system, data related to the contactof people, pets, and objects with floors within the property. Forexample, floor contact sensors located in a room of the property cancollect data that can be processed to determine the number of people inthe room. Floor contact sensors can also detect and identify variousactivities such as walking, running, jumping, or falling.

The process 500 includes receiving, by the monitoring system and from asensor other than the floor sensor, sensor data that indicates anattribute of the property (504). The sensor can be, for example, acamera, a motion sensor, a microphone, a thermometer, a humidity sensor,a GPS tracker, or a water flow sensor. Sensor data can include motiondetector data from areas around the property, indicating the locationsand movements of residents. Sensor data can also include temperaturedata from various rooms of the property, and water flow meter dataregarding the flow of water to and from sinks, showers, and toilets onthe property. Sensor data can include data from sensors such as humiditysensors, light detectors, and vehicle location trackers.

The process 500 includes analyzing, by the monitoring system, the floorsensor data and the sensor data (506). In some examples, the monitoringsystem can generate footstep data. The footstep data can include anumber of footsteps taken on the portion of the floor during a period oftime. For example, the footstep data may indicate that thirty steps inthe bedroom were detected on Wednesday while the system was armed. Thefootstep data can also include a path of footsteps taken on the portionof the floor during the period of time. For example, the footstep datamay indicate that a path of footsteps went in a straight line across thekitchen. The footstep data can also include a gait pattern of theperson, a weight of the person, and/or a foot size of the person. Forexample, the footstep data may indicate that resident 115 currentlyweighs one hundred and eighty pounds. In a general example of the above,the monitoring server 150 can determine footstep data 145 for theresident 115. The footstep data 145 can include the number of stepstaken by the resident 115 over the course of a day.

The process 500 includes, based on analyzing the floor sensor data andthe sensor data, performing a monitoring system action (508). In someexamples, the monitoring system action can include activating one ormore cameras to capture an image of an area of the property thatincludes the portion of the floor. In some examples, the monitoringsystem can include identifying, using image analysis, a presence of aperson in the image, and determining, based on analyzing the floorsensor data, a weight of the person in the image.

The monitoring system can also perform an action of dynamicallycontrolling and configuring devices and components of a property basedon floor contact sensor data. For example, the monitoring system can usethe data provided by the floor contact sensor to adjust the lighting ortemperature within certain areas of the property, to adjust the statusof the monitoring system, or to turn on or off appliances and sensorsbased on the location and activities of residents.

In some examples, the monitoring system can determine, based on thefootstep data, that the number of footsteps taken on the portion of thefloor during the period of time deviates from an expected number offootsteps taken on the portion of the floor during the period of time.The monitoring system can perform the monitoring system action bycommunicating, to a user device of a user, a notification indicatingthat the number of footsteps taken on the portion of the floor duringthe period of time deviates from the expected number of footsteps takenon the portion of the floor during the period of time.

For example, the monitoring system can determine, based on the data 145,that the number of footsteps taken by the resident 115 over the courseof a day is two hundred footsteps, and is less than an expected numberof footsteps of five hundred footsteps. In response to determining thatthe number of footsteps taken by the resident 115 is less than theexpected number of footsteps, the monitoring system can communicate,e.g., to the mobile device 175 of the caregiver 170, the notification165 indicating that the resident 115 has been less active than expected.

In some examples, the floor is located in a garage having a garage dooroperated by a garage door control device. The monitoring system candetermine an amount of pressure applied to the portion of the floor by avehicle. The monitoring system can detect, based on analyzing the floorsensor data, an increase in the amount of pressure applied to theportion of the floor by the vehicle. Based on detecting the increase inthe amount of pressure applied to the portion of the floor by thevehicle, the monitoring system can determine that a person has enteredthe vehicle. In response to determining that the person has entered thevehicle, the monitoring system can communicate an instruction to thegarage door control device to open the garage door.

For example, the monitoring system can determine a weight of 3,000pounds applied to a floor sensor of a garage floor by a vehicle. Themonitoring system can detect, based on analyzing the floor sensor data,an increase in the weight applied to the garage floor from 3,000 poundsto 3,200 pounds. Based on detecting the increase in the weight appliedto the garage floor, the monitoring system can determine that a personweighing 200 pounds has entered the vehicle. In response to determiningthat the person weighing 200 pounds has entered the vehicle, themonitoring system can communicate an instruction to the garage doorcontrol device to open the garage door.

In some examples, the monitoring system can determine, based onanalyzing the sensor data and the floor sensor data, that a person hasfallen on the floor, and in response to determining that the person hasfallen on the floor, perform a monitoring system action. For example,the monitoring server 150 may determine from footstep data 145 thatresident 115 has fallen on the floor. Determining that the resident 115has fallen on the floor can include determining that an impact pressureapplied to the portion of the floor exceeded a threshold impactpressure. For example, the floor contact sensor 110 may determine thatan impact pressure of one hundred pounds per square inch applied to aportion of the floor including area 410 b exceeded a threshold impactpressure of eighty pounds per square inch. Based on the impact pressureexceeding the threshold impact pressure, the monitoring system candetermine that the resident 115 has fallen on the floor.

Determining that the person has fallen on the floor can also includedetermining that a distribution of the amount of pressure applied to theportion of the floor indicates that a person is prone on the floor, anddetermining that a length of time that the person is prone on the floorexceeds a threshold length of time. For example, the floor contactsensor 110 can determine that a distribution of the amount of pressureapplied to the portion of the floor including area 410 b is 0.2 poundsper square inch averaged over an area of four square feet, and indicatesthat the resident 115 is prone on the floor. The floor contact sensor110 can determine that a length of time of five minutes that theresident 115 is prone on the floor exceeds a threshold length of time ofthree minutes. Based on determining that the length of time exceeds thethreshold length of time, the monitoring system can determine that theresident 115 has fallen on the floor.

In response to determining that the resident 115 has fallen on thefloor, the monitoring system can perform a monitoring system action. Forexample, the monitoring system can perform an action such as sending anotification to the caregiver 170 or to emergency personnel indicatingthat the resident 115 has fallen on the floor. In some examples, inresponse to determining that the resident 115 has fallen on the floor,the monitoring system can activate a personal assistant electronicdevice. The personal assistant can ask the resident 115 if the resident115 needs assistance. If the resident 115 responds affirmatively, orfails to respond, the monitoring system can send a notification to thecaregiver 170 or to emergency personnel.

In some examples, the monitoring system can determine, based onanalyzing the sensor data and the floor sensor data, an occupancy of aportion of the property. The monitoring system can determine that theoccupancy of the portion of the property exceeds a threshold occupancyof the property. For example, analyzing the data from the floor contactsensor 210 a can include determining that the occupancy of the livingroom is eleven people. The threshold occupancy of the property may beten people. Therefore, the monitoring system can determine that theoccupancy of the living room exceeds the threshold occupancy of theproperty. In response to determining that the occupancy of the livingroom exceeds the threshold occupancy of the property, the monitoringsystem can perform a monitoring system action, for example, by sending anotification to an owner of the property indicating that the occupancyexceeds the threshold occupancy.

In some examples, the monitoring system can determine a base state ofthe portion of the floor. The base state can include an amount ofpressure applied to the portion of the floor by inanimate objects in theabsence of human activity. The monitoring system can detect, based onanalyzing the sensor data and the floor sensor data, a change in theamount of pressure applied to the portion of the floor in the absence ofhuman activity. Based on detecting the change in the amount of pressureapplied to the portion of the floor in the absence of human activity,the monitoring system can determine that a location of one or moreinanimate objects has changed.

For example, the monitoring system can determine a base state of theliving room, including an average pressure of seven pounds per squarefoot applied by the sofa to location 215 b of the living room floor. Thebase state can be determined in the absence of human activity, e.g.,when no person is present in the living room. Once the base state datais stored, the monitoring system can detect changes to the base state.For example, the monitoring system can detect a decrease in averageapplied pressure at the location 215 b to zero pounds per square foot,and an increase in average applied pressure at location 220 b to sevenpounds per square foot. Based on detecting the change in the amount ofpressure applied to locations 215 b and 220 b of the living room floor,the monitoring system can determine that a location of the sofa haschanged from 215 b to 220 b. In response to determining that thelocation of the sofa has changed, the monitoring system can perform amonitoring system action, for example, by sending a notification to anowner of the property indicating that the location of the sofa haschanged.

In some examples, the monitoring system can determine, based on the pathof footsteps taken on the portion of the floor during the period oftime, that the person is approaching an area of the property that is offlimits to the person. The monitoring system can determine that theperson is approaching an area of the property that is off limits to theperson by identifying, based on analyzing sensor data, an identifiablefeature of the person. The monitoring system can retrieve, from adatabase, one or more identifiable features indicating access to thearea of the property and determine that the identifiable feature of theperson does not match any of the identifiable features indicating accessto the area of the property. The identifiable feature of the person caninclude, for example, an age, weight, facial identity, apparel, footsize, gait pattern, or visible access credential.

For example, the monitoring system can determine that the customer 320 cis approaching restricted area 315 c. The monitoring system can identifyan identifiable feature of the customer 320 c. For example, based onanalyzing the floor sensor data, the monitoring system can determine agait pattern of the customer 320 c. Based on analyzing images capturedby the surveillance camera 305 c, the monitoring system can determine afacial identity of the customer 320 c. The monitoring system candetermine that the gait pattern of the customer 320 c does not match thegait pattern of any person with access to the restricted area 315 c,that the facial identity of the customer 320 c does not match the facialidentity of any person with access to the restricted area 315 c, orboth. Therefore, the monitoring system can determine that the customer320 c is approaching an area of the property that is off limits to thecustomer 320 c. In response to determining that the customer 320 c isapproaching an area of the property that is off limits to the customer320 c, the monitoring system can perform a monitoring system action. Forexample, the monitoring system can perform the monitoring system actionby activating the alarm 306 c, activating the surveillance camera 305 cto capture images of the restricted area 315 c, or sending anotification to the employee 325 c indicating that the customers 320 cis approaching the restricted area 315 c.

In some examples, the monitoring system can determine an amount ofpressure applied to the portion of the floor by a furnishing storing anumber of items. The monitoring system can detect, based on analyzingthe floor sensor data, a reduction in the amount of pressure applied tothe portion of the floor by the furnishing. Based on detecting thereduction in the amount of pressure applied to the portion of the floorby the furnishing, the monitoring system can determine that one or moreof the items has been removed from the furnishing.

For example, the monitoring system can determine that a weight of thedisplay 315 b storing items is two hundred pounds. The monitoring systemcan detect, based on analyzing the floor sensor data of floor contactsensor 310 b, a reduction in the weight of the display 315 b from twohundred pounds to one hundred and eighty pounds. Based on detecting thereduction in the weight of the display 315 b, the monitoring system candetermine that an item weighing approximately twenty pounds was removedfrom the display 315 b. In response to determining that the itemweighting approximately twenty pounds was removed from the display 315b, the monitoring system can perform a monitoring system action, forexample, by activating the alarm 306 b, by activating the surveillancecamera 305 b to capture images of the display 315 b, or by sending anotification to the employee 325 b indicating that the item was removedfrom the display 315 b.

In some examples, as a person walks through a room of a property, themonitoring server can receive floor contact sensor data indicating theweight, footstep size, footstep path, and gait of the person. Themonitoring server can also receive motion sensor data indicating theperson's movement, surveillance camera imagery of the person walkingthrough the room, and audio data indicating the sound of the personwalking. The monitoring server can correlate data from the sensors withfloor contact sensor data to assess the activities of people on theproperty, and to detect any anomalies.

For example, the monitoring server can receive floor contact sensor dataindicating the weight, footstep size, footstep path, and gait of theshoplifter 320 b. The monitoring server can also receive camera imagesof the shoplifter 320 b from the surveillance camera 305 b. Themonitoring server can correlate data from the surveillance camera 305 bwith the floor contact sensor data to assess the activities of theshoplifter 320 b. For example, the monitoring server can determine thatthe shoplifter 320 b removed an item from the display 315 b and departedfrom the retail property. In response to determining that the shoplifter320 b removed the item from the display 315 b and departed from theretail property, the monitoring system can perform a monitoring systemaction. For example, the monitoring system can perform the monitoringsystem action by sending the floor contact sensor data and thesurveillance camera images to the employee 325 b, or to emergencypersonnel, for use in identifying the shoplifter 320 b.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a property monitoringsystem 600. The system 600 includes a network 605, a control unit 610,one or more user devices 640 and 650, a monitoring server 660, and acentral alarm station server 670. In some examples, the network 605facilitates communications between the control unit 610, the one or moreuser devices 640 and 650, the monitoring server 660, and the centralalarm station server 670.

A floor contact sensor 634 connects to the network 605 through thecontrol unit 610. The network 605 is configured to enable exchange ofelectronic communications between devices connected to the network 605.For example, the network 605 may be configured to enable exchange ofelectronic communications between the control unit 610, the one or moreuser devices 640 and 650, the monitoring server 660, and the centralalarm station server 670. The network 605 may include, for example, oneor more of the Internet, Wide Area Networks (WANs), Local Area Networks(LANs), analog or digital wired and wireless telephone networks (e.g., apublic switched telephone network (PSTN), Integrated Services DigitalNetwork (ISDN), a cellular network, and Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)),radio, television, cable, satellite, or any other delivery or tunnelingmechanism for carrying data. The network 605 may include multiplenetworks or subnetworks, each of which may include, for example, a wiredor wireless data pathway. The network 605 may include a circuit-switchednetwork, a packet-switched data network, or any other network able tocarry electronic communications (e.g., data or voice communications).For example, the network 605 may include networks based on the Internetprotocol (IP), asynchronous transfer mode (ATM), the PSTN,packet-switched networks based on IP, X.25, or Frame Relay, or othercomparable technologies and may support voice using, for example, VoIP,or other comparable protocols used for voice communications. The network605 may include one or more networks that include wireless data channelsand wireless voice channels. The network 605 may be a wireless network,a broadband network, or a combination of networks including a wirelessnetwork and a broadband network.

The control unit 610 includes a controller 612 and a network module 614.The controller 612 is configured to control a control unit monitoringsystem (e.g., a control unit system) that includes the control unit 610.In some examples, the controller 612 may include a processor or othercontrol circuitry configured to execute instructions of a program thatcontrols operation of a control unit system. In these examples, thecontroller 612 may be configured to receive input from sensors, floormonitors, or other devices included in the control unit system andcontrol operations of devices included in the household (e.g., speakers,lights, doors, etc.). For example, the controller 612 may be configuredto control operation of the network module 614 included in the controlunit 610.

The network module 614 is a communication device configured to exchangecommunications over the network 605. The network module 614 may be awireless communication module configured to exchange wirelesscommunications over the network 605. For example, the network module 614may be a wireless communication device configured to exchangecommunications over a wireless data channel and a wireless voicechannel. In this example, the network module 614 may transmit alarm dataover a wireless data channel and establish a two-way voice communicationsession over a wireless voice channel. The wireless communication devicemay include one or more of a LTE module, a GSM module, a radio modem,cellular transmission module, or any type of module configured toexchange communications in one of the following formats: LTE, GSM orGPRS, CDMA, EDGE or EGPRS, EV-DO or EVDO, UMTS, or IP.

The network module 614 also may be a wired communication moduleconfigured to exchange communications over the network 605 using a wiredconnection. For instance, the network module 614 may be a modem, anetwork interface card, or another type of network interface device. Thenetwork module 614 may be an Ethernet network card configured to enablethe control unit 610 to communicate over a local area network and/or theInternet. The network module 614 also may be a voice band modemconfigured to enable the alarm panel to communicate over the telephonelines of Plain Old Telephone Systems (POTS).

The control unit system that includes the control unit 610 includes oneor more sensors 620. For example, the monitoring system may includemultiple sensors 620. The sensors 620 may include a lock sensor, acontact sensor, a motion sensor, or any other type of sensor included ina control unit system. The sensors 620 also may include an environmentalsensor, such as a thermometer, a water sensor, a rain sensor, a windsensor, a light sensor, a smoke detector, a carbon monoxide detector, anair quality sensor, etc.

The system 600 also includes one or more property automation controls622 that communicate with the control unit 610 to perform monitoring.The property automation controls 622 are connected to one or moredevices connected to the system 600 and enable automation of actions atthe property. For instance, the property automation controls 622 may beconnected to one or more lighting systems and may be configured tocontrol operation of the one or more lighting systems. Also, theproperty automation controls 622 may be connected to one or moreelectronic locks at the property and may be configured to controloperation of the one or more electronic locks (e.g., control Z-Wavelocks using wireless communications in the Z-Wave protocol). Further,the property automation controls 622 may be connected to one or moreappliances at the property and may be configured to control operation ofthe one or more appliances. The property automation controls 622 mayinclude multiple modules that are each specific to the type of devicebeing controlled in an automated manner. The property automationcontrols 622 may control the one or more devices based on commandsreceived from the control unit 610. For instance, the propertyautomation controls 622 may interrupt power delivery to a particularoutlet of the property or induce movement of a smart window shade of theproperty.

In some examples, the system 600 includes one or more robotic devices690. The robotic devices 690 may be any type of robot that are capableof moving and taking actions that assist in home monitoring. Forexample, the robotic devices 690 may include drones that are capable ofmoving throughout a property based on automated control technologyand/or user input control provided by a user. In this example, thedrones may be able to fly, roll, walk, or otherwise move about theproperty. The drones may include helicopter type devices (e.g., quadcopters), rolling helicopter type devices (e.g., roller copter devicesthat can fly and/or roll along the ground, walls, or ceiling) and landvehicle type devices (e.g., automated cars that drive around aproperty). In some cases, the robotic devices 690 may be robotic devices690 that are intended for other purposes and merely associated with thesystem 600 for use in appropriate circumstances. For instance, a roboticaerial drone may be associated with the monitoring system 600 as one ofthe robotic devices 690 and may be controlled to take action responsiveto monitoring system events.

In some examples, the robotic devices 690 automatically navigate withina property. In these examples, the robotic devices 690 include sensorsand control processors that guide movement of the robotic devices 690within the property. For instance, the robotic devices 690 may navigatewithin the property using one or more cameras, one or more proximitysensors, one or more gyroscopes, one or more accelerometers, one or moremagnetometers, a global positioning system (GPS) unit, an altimeter, oneor more sonar or laser sensors, and/or any other types of sensors thataid in navigation about a space. The robotic devices 690 may includecontrol processors that process output from the various sensors andcontrol the robotic devices 690 to move along a path that reaches thedesired destination and avoids obstacles. In this regard, the controlprocessors detect walls or other obstacles in the property and guidemovement of the robotic devices 690 in a manner that avoids the wallsand other obstacles.

In addition, the robotic devices 690 may store data that describesattributes of the property. For instance, the robotic devices 690 maystore a floorplan of a building on the property and/or athree-dimensional model of the property that enables the robotic devices690 to navigate the property. During initial configuration, the roboticdevices 690 may receive the data describing attributes of the property,determine a frame of reference to the data (e.g., a property orreference location in the property), and navigate the property based onthe frame of reference and the data describing attributes of theproperty. Further, initial configuration of the robotic devices 690 alsomay include learning of one or more navigation patterns in which a userprovides input to control the robotic devices 690 to perform a specificnavigation action (e.g., fly to an upstairs bedroom and spin aroundwhile capturing video and then return to a home charging base). In thisregard, the robotic devices 690 may learn and store the navigationpatterns such that the robotic devices 690 may automatically repeat thespecific navigation actions upon a later request.

In some examples, the robotic devices 690 may include data capture andrecording devices. In these examples, the robotic devices 690 mayinclude one or more cameras, one or more motion sensors, one or moremicrophones, one or more biometric data collection tools, one or moretemperature sensors, one or more humidity sensors, one or more air flowsensors, and/or any other types of sensors that may be useful incapturing monitoring data related to the property and users at theproperty.

In some implementations, the robotic devices 690 may include outputdevices. In these implementations, the robotic devices 690 may includeone or more displays, one or more speakers, and/or any type of outputdevices that allow the robotic devices 690 to communicate information toa nearby user.

The robotic devices 690 also may include a communication module thatenables the robotic devices 690 to communicate with the control unit610, each other, and/or other devices. The communication module may be awireless communication module that allows the robotic devices 690 tocommunicate wirelessly. For instance, the communication module may be aWi-Fi module that enables the robotic devices 690 to communicate over alocal wireless network at the property. The communication module furthermay be a 900 MHz wireless communication module that enables the roboticdevices 690 to communicate directly with the control unit 610. Othertypes of short-range wireless communication protocols, such asBluetooth, Bluetooth LE, Z-wave, Zigbee, etc., may be used to allow therobotic devices 690 to communicate with other devices in the property.In some implementations, the robotic devices 690 may communicate witheach other or with other devices of the system 600 through the network605.

The robotic devices 690 further may include processor and storagecapabilities. The robotic devices 690 may include any suitableprocessing devices that enable the robotic devices 690 to operateapplications and perform the actions described throughout thisdisclosure. In addition, the robotic devices 690 may include solid stateelectronic storage that enables the robotic devices 690 to storeapplications, configuration data, collected sensor data, and/or anyother type of information available to the robotic devices 690.

The robotic devices 690 can be associated with one or more chargingstations. The charging stations may be located at predefined home baseor reference locations at the property. The robotic devices 690 may beconfigured to navigate to the charging stations after completion oftasks needed to be performed for the monitoring system 600. Forinstance, after completion of a monitoring operation or upon instructionby the control unit 610, the robotic devices 690 may be configured toautomatically fly to and land on one of the charging stations. In thisregard, the robotic devices 690 may automatically maintain a fullycharged battery in a state in which the robotic devices 690 are readyfor use by the monitoring system 600.

The charging stations may be contact-based charging stations and/orwireless charging stations. For contact-based charging stations, therobotic devices 690 may have readily accessible points of contact thatthe robotic devices 690 are capable of positioning and mating with acorresponding contact on the charging station. For instance, ahelicopter type robotic device 690 may have an electronic contact on aportion of its landing gear that rests on and mates with an electronicpad of a charging station when the helicopter type robotic device 690lands on the charging station. The electronic contact on the roboticdevice 690 may include a cover that opens to expose the electroniccontact when the robotic device 690 is charging and closes to cover andinsulate the electronic contact when the robotic device is in operation.

For wireless charging stations, the robotic devices 690 may chargethrough a wireless exchange of power. In these cases, the roboticdevices 690 need only locate themselves closely enough to the wirelesscharging stations for the wireless exchange of power to occur. In thisregard, the positioning needed to land at a predefined home base orreference location in the property may be less precise than with acontact based charging station. Based on the robotic devices 690 landingat a wireless charging station, the wireless charging station outputs awireless signal that the robotic devices 690 receive and convert to apower signal that charges a battery maintained on the robotic devices690.

In some implementations, each of the robotic devices 690 has acorresponding and assigned charging station such that the number ofrobotic devices 690 equals the number of charging stations. In theseimplementations, the robotic devices 690 always navigate to the specificcharging station assigned to that robotic device. For instance, a firstrobotic device 690 may always use a first charging station and a secondrobotic device 690 may always use a second charging station.

In some examples, the robotic devices 690 may share charging stations.For instance, the robotic devices 690 may use one or more communitycharging stations that are capable of charging multiple robotic devices690. The community charging station may be configured to charge multiplerobotic devices 690 in parallel. The community charging station may beconfigured to charge multiple robotic devices 690 in serial such thatthe multiple robotic devices 690 take turns charging and, when fullycharged, return to a predefined home base or reference location in theproperty that is not associated with a charger. The number of communitycharging stations may be less than the number of robotic devices 690.

Also, the charging stations may not be assigned to specific roboticdevices 690 and may be capable of charging any of the robotic devices690. In this regard, the robotic devices 690 may use any suitable,unoccupied charging station when not in use. For instance, when one ofthe robotic devices 690 has completed an operation or is in need ofbattery charge, the control unit 610 references a stored table of theoccupancy status of each charging station and instructs the roboticdevice 690 to navigate to the nearest charging station that isunoccupied.

The system 600 further includes one or more integrated security devices680. The one or more integrated security devices may include any type ofdevice used to provide alerts based on received sensor data. Forinstance, the one or more control units 610 may provide one or morealerts to the one or more integrated security input/output devices 680.Additionally, the one or more control units 610 may receive one or moresensor data from the sensors 620 and determine whether to provide analert to the one or more integrated security input/output devices 680.

The sensors 620, the property automation controls 622, and theintegrated security devices 680 may communicate with the controller 612over communication links 624, 626, 632, and 684. The communication links624, 626, 632, and 684 may be a wired or wireless data pathwayconfigured to transmit signals from the sensors 620, the propertyautomation controls 622, the floor contact sensor 634, and theintegrated security devices 680 to the controller 612. The sensors 620,the property automation controls 622, the floor contact sensor 634, andthe integrated security devices 680 may continuously transmit sensedvalues to the controller 612, periodically transmit sensed values to thecontroller 612, or transmit sensed values to the controller 612 inresponse to a change in a sensed value.

The communication links 624, 626, 632, and 684 may include a localnetwork. The sensors 620, the property automation controls 622, thefloor contact sensor 634, and the integrated security devices 680, andthe controller 612 may exchange data and commands over the localnetwork. The local network may include 802.11 “Wi-Fi” wireless Ethernet(e.g., using low-power Wi-Fi chipsets), Z-Wave, Zigbee, Bluetooth,“Homeplug” or other “Powerline” networks that operate over AC wiring,and a Category 5 (CATS) or Category 6 (CAT6) wired Ethernet network. Thelocal network may be a mesh network constructed based on the devicesconnected to the mesh network.

The monitoring server 660 is one or more electronic devices configuredto provide monitoring services by exchanging electronic communicationswith the control unit 610, the one or more user devices 640 and 650, andthe central alarm station server 670 over the network 605. For example,the monitoring server 660 may be configured to monitor events (e.g.,alarm events) generated by the control unit 610. In this example, themonitoring server 660 may exchange electronic communications with thenetwork module 614 included in the control unit 610 to receiveinformation regarding events (e.g., alerts) detected by the control unit610. The monitoring server 660 also may receive information regardingevents (e.g., alerts) from the one or more user devices 640 and 650.

In some examples, the monitoring server 660 may route alert datareceived from the network module 614 or the one or more user devices 640and 650 to the central alarm station server 670. For example, themonitoring server 660 may transmit the alert data to the central alarmstation server 670 over the network 605.

The monitoring server 660 may store sensor data and other monitoringsystem data received from the monitoring system and perform analysis ofthe sensor data and other monitoring system data received from themonitoring system. Based on the analysis, the monitoring server 660 maycommunicate with and control aspects of the control unit 610 or the oneor more user devices 640 and 650.

The monitoring server 660 may provide various monitoring services to thesystem 600. For example, the monitoring server 660 may analyze thesensor and other data to determine an activity pattern of a resident ofthe property monitored by the system 600. In some implementations, themonitoring server 660 may analyze the data for alarm conditions or maydetermine and perform actions at the property by issuing commands to oneor more of the automation controls 622, possibly through the controlunit 610.

The central alarm station server 670 is an electronic device configuredto provide alarm monitoring service by exchanging communications withthe control unit 610, the one or more mobile devices 640 and 650, andthe monitoring server 660 over the network 605. For example, the centralalarm station server 670 may be configured to monitor alerting eventsgenerated by the control unit 610. In this example, the central alarmstation server 670 may exchange communications with the network module614 included in the control unit 610 to receive information regardingalerting events detected by the control unit 610. The central alarmstation server 670 also may receive information regarding alertingevents from the one or more mobile devices 640 and 650 and/or themonitoring server 660.

The central alarm station server 670 is connected to multiple terminals672 and 674. The terminals 672 and 674 may be used by operators toprocess alerting events. For example, the central alarm station server670 may route alerting data to the terminals 672 and 674 to enable anoperator to process the alerting data. The terminals 672 and 674 mayinclude general-purpose computers (e.g., desktop personal computers,workstations, or laptop computers) that are configured to receivealerting data from a server in the central alarm station server 670 andrender a display of information based on the alerting data. Forinstance, the controller 612 may control the network module 614 totransmit, to the central alarm station server 670, alerting dataindicating that a sensor 620 detected motion from a motion sensor viathe sensors 620. The central alarm station server 670 may receive thealerting data and route the alerting data to the terminal 672 forprocessing by an operator associated with the terminal 672. The terminal672 may render a display to the operator that includes informationassociated with the alerting event (e.g., the lock sensor data, themotion sensor data, the contact sensor data, etc.) and the operator mayhandle the alerting event based on the displayed information.

In some implementations, the terminals 672 and 674 may be mobile devicesor devices designed for a specific function. Although FIG. 6 illustratestwo terminals for brevity, actual implementations may include more (and,perhaps, many more) terminals.

The one or more authorized user devices 640 and 650 are devices thathost and display user interfaces. For instance, the user device 640 is amobile device that hosts or runs one or more native applications (e.g.,the smart home application 642). The user device 640 may be a cellularphone or a non-cellular locally networked device with a display. Theuser device 640 may include a cell phone, a smart phone, a tablet PC, apersonal digital assistant (“PDA”), or any other portable deviceconfigured to communicate over a network and display information. Forexample, implementations may also include Blackberry-type devices (e.g.,as provided by Research in Motion), electronic organizers, iPhone-typedevices (e.g., as provided by Apple), iPod devices (e.g., as provided byApple) or other portable music players, other communication devices, andhandheld or portable electronic devices for gaming, communications,and/or data organization. The user device 640 may perform functionsunrelated to the monitoring system, such as placing personal telephonecalls, playing music, playing video, displaying pictures, browsing theInternet, maintaining an electronic calendar, etc.

The user device 640 includes a smart home application 642. The smarthome application 642 refers to a software/firmware program running onthe corresponding mobile device that enables the user interface andfeatures described throughout. The user device 640 may load or installthe smart home application 642 based on data received over a network ordata received from local media. The smart home application 642 runs onmobile devices platforms, such as iPhone, iPod touch, Blackberry, GoogleAndroid, Windows Mobile, etc. The smart home application 642 enables theuser device 640 to receive and process power and sensor data from themonitoring system.

The user device 650 may be a general-purpose computer (e.g., a desktoppersonal computer, a workstation, or a laptop computer) that isconfigured to communicate with the monitoring server 660 and/or thecontrol unit 610 over the network 605. The user device 650 may beconfigured to display a smart home user interface 652 that is generatedby the user device 650 or generated by the monitoring server 660. Forexample, the user device 650 may be configured to display a userinterface (e.g., a web page) provided by the monitoring server 660 thatenables a user to perceive data captured by the floor contact sensor 634and/or reports related to the monitoring system. Although FIG. 6illustrates two user devices for brevity, actual implementations mayinclude more (and, perhaps, many more) or fewer user devices.

The smart home application 642 and the smart home user interface 652 canallow a user to interface with the property monitoring system 600, forexample, allowing the user to view monitoring system settings, adjustmonitoring system parameters, customize monitoring system rules, andreceive and view monitoring system messages.

In some implementations, the one or more user devices 640 and 650communicate with and receive monitoring system data from the controlunit 610 using the communication link 638. For instance, the one or moreuser devices 640 and 650 may communicate with the control unit 610 usingvarious local wireless protocols such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Z-wave,Zigbee, HomePlug (ethernet over power line), or wired protocols such asEthernet and USB, to connect the one or more user devices 640 and 650 tolocal security and automation equipment. The one or more user devices640 and 650 may connect locally to the monitoring system and its sensorsand other devices. The local connection may improve the speed of statusand control communications because communicating through the network 605with a remote server (e.g., the monitoring server 660) may besignificantly slower.

Although the one or more user devices 640 and 650 are shown ascommunicating with the control unit 610, the one or more user devices640 and 650 may communicate directly with the sensors 620 and otherdevices controlled by the control unit 610. In some implementations, theone or more user devices 640 and 650 replace the control unit 610 andperform the functions of the control unit 610 for local monitoring andlong range/offsite communication.

In other implementations, the one or more user devices 640 and 650receive monitoring system data captured by the control unit 610 throughthe network 605. The one or more user devices 640, 650 may receive thedata from the control unit 610 through the network 605 or the monitoringserver 660 may relay data received from the control unit 610 to the oneor more user devices 640 and 650 through the network 605. In thisregard, the monitoring server 660 may facilitate communication betweenthe one or more user devices 640 and 650 and the monitoring system 600.

In some implementations, the one or more user devices 640 and 650 may beconfigured to switch whether the one or more user devices 640 and 650communicate with the control unit 610 directly (e.g., through link 638)or through the monitoring server 660 (e.g., through network 605) basedon a location of the one or more user devices 640 and 650. For instance,when the one or more user devices 640 and 650 are located close to thecontrol unit 610 and in range to communicate directly with the controlunit 610, the one or more user devices 640 and 650 use directcommunication. When the one or more user devices 640 and 650 are locatedfar from the control unit 610 and not in range to communicate directlywith the control unit 610, the one or more user devices 640 and 650 usecommunication through the monitoring server 660.

Although the one or more user devices 640 and 650 are shown as beingconnected to the network 605, in some implementations, the one or moreuser devices 640 and 650 are not connected to the network 605. In theseimplementations, the one or more user devices 640 and 650 communicatedirectly with one or more of the monitoring system components and nonetwork (e.g., Internet) connection or reliance on remote servers isneeded.

In some implementations, the one or more user devices 640 and 650 areused in conjunction with only local sensors and/or local devices in aproperty. In these implementations, the system 600 includes the one ormore user devices 640 and 650, the sensors 620, the property automationcontrols 622, the floor contact sensor 634, and the robotic devices 690.The one or more user devices 640 and 650 receive data directly from thesensors 620, the property automation controls 622, the floor contactsensor 634, and the robotic devices 690 (i.e., the monitoring systemcomponents) and sends data directly to the monitoring system components.The one or more user devices 640, 650 provide the appropriateinterfaces/processing to provide visual surveillance and reporting.

In other implementations, the system 600 further includes network 605and the sensors 620, the property automation controls 622, the floorcontact sensor 634, and the robotic devices 690 are configured tocommunicate sensor and power data to the one or more user devices 640and 650 over network 605 (e.g., the Internet, cellular network, etc.).In yet another implementation, the sensors 620, the property automationcontrols 622, the floor contact sensor 634, and the robotic devices 690(or a component, such as a bridge/router) are intelligent enough tochange the communication pathway from a direct local pathway when theone or more user devices 640 and 650 are in close physical proximity tothe sensors 620, the property automation controls 622, the floor contactsensor 634, and the robotic devices 690 to a pathway over network 605when the one or more user devices 640 and 650 are farther from thesensors 620, the property automation controls 622, the floor contactsensor 634, and the robotic devices 690. In some examples, the systemleverages GPS information from the one or more user devices 640 and 650to determine whether the one or more user devices 640 and 650 are closeenough to the monitoring system components to use the direct localpathway or whether the one or more user devices 640 and 650 are farenough from the monitoring system components that the pathway overnetwork 605 is required. In other examples, the system leverages statuscommunications (e.g., pinging) between the one or more user devices 640and 650 and the sensors 620, the property automation controls 622, thefloor contact sensor 634, and the robotic devices 690 to determinewhether communication using the direct local pathway is possible. Ifcommunication using the direct local pathway is possible, the one ormore user devices 640 and 650 communicate with the sensors 620, theproperty automation controls 622, the floor contact sensor 634, and therobotic devices 690 using the direct local pathway. If communicationusing the direct local pathway is not possible, the one or more userdevices 640 and 650 communicate with the monitoring system componentsusing the pathway over network 605.

In some implementations, the system 600 provides end users with accessto the floor contact data captured by the floor contact sensor 634 toaid in decision making. The system 600 may transmit the floor contactdata captured by the floor contact sensor 634 over a wireless WANnetwork to the user devices 640 and 650. Because transmission over awireless WAN network may be relatively expensive, the system 600 can useseveral techniques to reduce costs while providing access to significantlevels of useful visual information (e.g., compressing data,down-sampling data, sending data only over inexpensive LAN connections,or other techniques).

The described systems, processes, and techniques may be implemented indigital electronic circuitry, computer hardware, firmware, software, orin combinations of these elements. Apparatus implementing thesetechniques may include appropriate input and output devices, a computerprocessor, and a computer program product tangibly embodied in amachine-readable storage device for execution by a programmableprocessor. A process implementing these techniques may be performed by aprogrammable processor executing a program of instructions to performdesired functions by operating on input data and generating appropriateoutput. The techniques may be implemented in one or more computerprograms that are executable on a programmable system including at leastone programmable processor coupled to receive data and instructionsfrom, and to transmit data and instructions to, a data storage system,at least one input device, and at least one output device. Each computerprogram may be implemented in a high-level procedural or object-orientedprogramming language, or in assembly or machine language if desired; andin any case, the language may be a compiled or interpreted language.Suitable processors include, by way of example, both general and specialpurpose microprocessors. Generally, a processor will receiveinstructions and data from a read-only memory and/or a random-accessmemory. Storage devices suitable for tangibly embodying computer programinstructions and data include all forms of non-volatile memory,including by way of example semiconductor memory devices, such asErasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EPROM), Electrically ErasableProgrammable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM), and flash memory devices;magnetic disks such as internal hard disks and removable disks;magneto-optical disks; and Compact Disc Read-Only Memory (CD-ROM). Anyof the foregoing may be supplemented by, or incorporated in, speciallydesigned ASICs (application-specific integrated circuits).

It will be understood that various modifications may be made. Forexample, other useful implementations could be achieved if steps of thedisclosed techniques were performed in a different order and/or ifcomponents in the disclosed systems were combined in a different mannerand/or replaced or supplemented by other components. Accordingly, otherimplementations are within the scope of the disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A monitoring system that is configured to monitora property, the monitoring system comprising: a sensor that isconfigured to generate sensor data that indicates an attribute of theproperty; a floor sensor that is configured to generate floor sensordata that indicates an amount of pressure applied to a portion of afloor of the property; and a monitor control unit that is configured to:receive, from the sensor, the sensor data; receive, from the floorsensor, the floor sensor data; analyze the sensor data and the floorsensor data; and based on analyzing the sensor data and the floor sensordata, perform a monitoring system action.
 2. The monitoring system ofclaim 1, wherein the monitor control unit is configured to: detect,based on analyzing the sensor data and the floor sensor data, one ormore footsteps taken on the portion of the floor by a person; andgenerate footstep data, the footstep data comprising one or more of: anumber of footsteps taken on the portion of the floor during a period oftime; a path of footsteps taken on the portion of the floor during theperiod of time; a gait pattern of the person; a weight of the person; ora foot size of the person.
 3. The monitoring system of claim 1, whereinthe monitor control unit is configured to: determine, based on analyzingthe sensor data and the floor sensor data, that a person has fallen onthe portion of the floor; and in response to determining that the personhas fallen on the portion of the floor, perform the monitoring systemaction.
 4. The monitoring system of claim 3, wherein determining thatthe person has fallen on the portion of the floor comprises: determiningan impact pressure applied to the portion of the floor; and determiningthat the impact pressure applied to the portion of the floor exceeded athreshold impact pressure.
 5. The monitoring system of claim 3, whereindetermining that the person has fallen on the portion of the floorcomprises: determining a distribution of the amount of pressure appliedto the portion of the floor; determining that the distribution of theamount of pressure applied to the portion of the floor indicates that aperson is prone on the floor; and determining that a length of time thatthe person is prone on the floor exceeds a threshold length of time. 6.The monitoring system of claim 1, wherein the monitor control unit isconfigured to: determine, based on analyzing the sensor data and thefloor sensor data, an occupancy of a portion of the property; determinethat the occupancy of the portion of the property exceeds a thresholdoccupancy of the property; and in response to determining that theoccupancy of the portion of the property exceeds the threshold occupancyof the property, perform the monitoring system action.
 7. The monitoringsystem of claim 1, wherein the monitor control unit is configured to:determine a base state of the portion of the floor, the base statecomprising an amount of pressure applied to the portion of the floor byone or more inanimate objects in the absence of human activity; detect,based on analyzing the floor sensor data, a change in the amount ofpressure applied to the portion of the floor in the absence of humanactivity; and based on detecting the change in the amount of pressureapplied to the portion of the floor in the absence of human activity,determine that a location of one or more inanimate objects has changed.8. The monitoring system of claim 1, wherein the monitor control unit isconfigured to: determine an amount of pressure applied to the portion ofthe floor by a furnishing storing a plurality of items; detect, based onanalyzing the floor sensor data, a reduction in the amount of pressureapplied to the portion of the floor by the furnishing; based ondetecting the reduction in the amount of pressure applied to the portionof the floor by the furnishing, determine that one or more of theplurality of items has been removed from the furnishing; and in responseto determining that the one or more of the plurality of items has beenremoved from the furnishing, perform the monitoring system action. 9.The monitoring system of claim 1, wherein the floor is located in agarage having a garage door operated by a garage door control device,and wherein the monitor control unit is configured to: determine anamount of pressure applied to the portion of the floor by a vehicle;detect, based on analyzing the floor sensor data, an increase in theamount of pressure applied to the portion of the floor by the vehicle;based on detecting the increase in the amount of pressure applied to theportion of the floor by the vehicle, determine that a person has enteredthe vehicle; and in response to determining that the person has enteredthe vehicle, communicate an instruction to the garage door controldevice to open the garage door.
 10. The monitoring system of claim 1,wherein the floor sensor is integrated into a floor surface, the floorsurface comprising one or more of a tile, a carpet, a mat, a floorboard,a pad, or an underlayment.
 11. The monitoring system of claim 1,wherein: the floor of the property comprises a plurality of tiles, andthe floor sensor comprises: a plurality of pressure sensors, each of theplurality of pressure sensors integrated into a respective tile of theplurality of tiles and configured to output a measured amount ofpressure applied to the respective tile.
 12. The monitoring system ofclaim 1, wherein the floor sensor comprises one or more of a straingauge, a fiber optic sensor, or a capacitive sensor.
 13. The monitoringsystem of claim 1, wherein the amount of pressure applied to the portionof the floor of the property comprises an indication of either apresence or absence of pressure applied to the portion of the floor. 14.The monitoring system of claim 1, wherein the monitoring system actioncomprises activating one or more cameras to capture an image of an areaof the property that includes the portion of the floor.
 15. Themonitoring system of claim 14, wherein the monitoring system actioncomprises: identifying, using image analysis, a presence of a person inthe image; and determining, based on analyzing the floor sensor data, aweight of the person in the image.
 16. The monitoring system of claim 2,wherein the monitor control unit is configured to: determine, based onthe footstep data, that the number of footsteps taken on the portion ofthe floor during the period of time deviates from an expected number offootsteps taken on the portion of the floor during the period of time;and communicate, to a user device of a user, a notification indicatingthat the number of footsteps taken on the portion of the floor duringthe period of time deviates from the expected number of footsteps takenon the portion of the floor during the period of time.
 17. Themonitoring system of claim 2, wherein the monitoring system action isconfigured to: determine, based on the path of footsteps taken on theportion of the floor during the period of time, that the person isapproaching an area of the property that is off limits to the person;and in response to determining that the person is approaching the areaof the property that is off limits to the person, perform the monitoringsystem action.
 18. The monitoring system of claim 17, whereindetermining that the person is approaching the area of the property thatis off limits to the person comprises: identifying, based on analyzingthe sensor data, an identifiable feature of the person; retrieving, froma database, one or more identifiable features indicating access to thearea of the property; and determining that the identifiable feature ofthe person does not match any of the one or more identifiable featuresindicating access to the area of the property.
 19. A non-transitorycomputer-readable medium storing software comprising instructionsexecutable by one or more computers which, upon such execution, causethe one or more computers to perform operations comprising: receiving,from a sensor, sensor data that indicates an attribute of a property;receiving, from a floor sensor, floor sensor data that indicates anamount of pressure applied to a portion of a floor of the property;analyzing the sensor data and the floor sensor data; and based onanalyzing the sensor data and the floor sensor data, performing amonitoring system action.
 20. A method, comprising: receiving, from asensor, sensor data that indicates an attribute of a property;receiving, from a floor sensor, floor sensor data that indicates anamount of pressure applied to a portion of a floor of the property;analyzing the sensor data and the floor sensor data; and based onanalyzing the sensor data and the floor sensor data, performing amonitoring system action.